The US Marines or the British Parachute Regiment heavily promote their status as an elite corps. Advertising for theme parks and even toys often uses the "Are you tough enough?" trope. The Hermes Birkin bag has become one of the most sought-after items in fashion, precisely because Hermes won't sell them to the 'wrong' sort of people.

http://www.npr.org/sections/money/2015/12/25/460870534/episo...

But there's a world of difference between "are you tough enough?" and "you're probably not tough enough".

I agree with the GP poster, condescension won't play well.

It's definitely an obnoxious strategy, and it's kind of sad to see. Unfortunately that doesn't mean it won't be effective. After all, we're talking about them here.

Its like a social desirability Catch 22...either way, we lose.