After some hard graft this morning, I decided to go have a quick lunch at a restaurant close to where I’m working at the moment. I was planning on ordering a quick sandwich and then heading off. That was until I was confronted with the menu.
As you can see, it was not just a menu, it was a food catalogue. So I started turning the pages of the food catalogue to see what I wanted to eat. Turning past the drinks section, I saw ad number one – for a gym.
I thought it was a bit weird, but kept turning the pages. Then I saw the ad number two – for a wine manufacturer. I immediately thought - ‘Ooh maybe that’s a conflict of interest, but maybe that’s the way they do things over here’. Ad space in exchange for cheaper bulk wine deals?
But then it got weirder. I flipped over to the entrees section of the menu and saw ad number three and the weirdest one yet – and keep in mind that I was ready to order a nice portion of nachos or something equally calorific.
So it looks like the owner of the restaurant has not only asked her favourite wine company and gym to advertise, she’s also seen fit to include a personal photo endorsement of her favourite weight loss program. Bizarre.
The icing on the cake was ad number four. I’ve seen some bad media planning in my time, but this placement is really something special.
