"If they can create 'provocative' female-themed drink coasters with holes in them, then we can create 3-D placemats suggesting castration," one owner says
DOWNTOWN - A recent controversy over an ad campaign for Papa J's Centro has led to a counter-campaign by an East Liberty restaurant. Feed the Earth, a vegetarian eatery owned and run exclusively by women, started its first-ever marketing effort to counter the Centro campaign created by Brunner advertising agency.
Brunner's ads and in-restaurant items played up the location's reputed history as a brothel. Ads suggested women as being "easy," and used "redheaded slut" as a drink name. But perhaps the most offensive items were drink coasters with strategically-placed holes depicting women, with suggestions of inserting fingers into the holes. Brunner president Scott Morgan defended the work, which drew criticism from local universities and PR executives.
"[Scott Morgan] thinks he's clever," said Susan Messner, one of the owners of Feed the Earth. "Demeaning women in sexual terms for amusement - yeah, that's really original."
Messner said she and the other four owners decided to fight fire with fire. "We started brainstorming ideas of our own. One of the owners is really good with origami. She folded a placemat just right so it looks like a male figure complete with genitalia. Then another woman drew caricatures of Morgan onto the figure. Now we're going put them out on our tables with pairs of scissors. I don't even think we'll have to write out instructions to tell our customers what to do."
Messner does not expect backlash from the marketing campaign. "I think our diners will really enjoy this," she said. "And if Mr. Morgan calls to complain about being castrated, I'll just tell him what he said: 'Creativity can be very provocative and very polarizing.' That should shut him up."
