Here we have a guy named John staying at a La Quinta Inns
& Suites, and this allegedly makes John feel confident, and so when he
competes for a business account, he purportedly gets “a leg up” on the
competition. And when I say that, I mean it literally, because when standing
next to his competitor, John literally puts his leg up on this guy (which is
easier because the guy is over a head shorter than John). This literal display
of the old time-honored cliché of the “leg up” idea would be pretty cute, if not for
a couple of unfortunate things.
First, John’s literal putting his leg up on the competition is an unwelcome invasion of his personal space, and as such, it could be considered assault and/or intimidation. Plus, it’s show-off-y, and is as such off-putting. Then there is the next issue, which is the simple fact that when John performs this raising his leg up over this other guy, it makes it appear as though his intent is to urinate on him like a dog would do. This is gross and disgusting, as well as degrading and insulting (in addition to appearing perhaps just a bit perverted), and as such, I think it’s a bit over-the-line for a business meeting. But hey: I’m not a corporate big-wig, so maybe I just don’t understand how big business operates! (Maybe it’s all about dominance and humiliation after all!)
First, John’s literal putting his leg up on the competition is an unwelcome invasion of his personal space, and as such, it could be considered assault and/or intimidation. Plus, it’s show-off-y, and is as such off-putting. Then there is the next issue, which is the simple fact that when John performs this raising his leg up over this other guy, it makes it appear as though his intent is to urinate on him like a dog would do. This is gross and disgusting, as well as degrading and insulting (in addition to appearing perhaps just a bit perverted), and as such, I think it’s a bit over-the-line for a business meeting. But hey: I’m not a corporate big-wig, so maybe I just don’t understand how big business operates! (Maybe it’s all about dominance and humiliation after all!)
So this ad is cute and well-intentioned, I think, but this
leg-lifting thing is kind of a problem. Even if it’s intended as an in-joke, it
makes me rather think about the Occupy movement’s message, and how it so often
feels like business people think they can just “piss all over” the rest of us.
Do you see what I mean here? And if that’s what it brings to mind for others
too, then it makes La Quinta appear to be not only condoning of, but also
perhaps complicit in, this type of abusive business attitude and/or practice.
Doesn’t it? And that’s not really all that conducive to attracting a large
variety of customers to their hotels. (Unless the power-abuse-y elite and the
“golden showers” fetish crowd are their only specific target client
demographic, in which case: well done, indeed!)
Oh, and I almost forgot: The tagline of this spot, or at
least the announcer copy at the end of the spot, says: “La Quinta Inns and
Suites take care of you, so you can take care of business!” And what expression
do people so often euphemistically use to refer to their dog’s excretory
activities? That’s right, they say: “Take care of business”, or: “Do his/her
business”; and that brings this whole peeing on someone metaphor to mind all
over again! Is this intentional? And if so, then why not say we’re “#1” with
them? (Or they could say that they’re “number one” because they treat their
guests like “number one”.)
I can’t find this commercial online, darn it! You’ve really
got to see it to believe it!
No, wait; here it is (I just found it, one week later!):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zxsFWRNNrwc
No, wait; here it is (I just found it, one week later!):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zxsFWRNNrwc
