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| Temple Dedication Advertising: Yay or Nay? |
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Feb. 19th, 2009 at 2:12 pm
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I’ve seen this sign placed at parking lot exit locations for two of the three parking lots used by those attending the Draper Temple dedication. Personally I find them to be as tasteless as the food at Guadalahonky’s. Of course this is the establishment that for years put up “I get gas at Guad’s” billboards on I-15, so it isn’t as if they have a track record of tastefulness. |
I should note that when I say that the food there is tasteless I speak from experience. I went there once with my wife for a dinner. They refused to seat us or give us food though the place was less than half full. Why? Because their computer had crashed. They had called someone to fix it but would not accept any more diners until it was fixed. I told them that most places could get by on paper and pencil in a pinch. They looked at me like I was insane. We waited a bit and left, having experienced no taste at all. That was the one and only time I’ve ever attempted to eat there. |
Although, I’d rather there be restaurants handing out coupons at temple open houses rather than the various other literature that is often handed out. |
I’m getting a 404 fail on the picture… :-( |
I saw this sign too. It struck me as a bit odd, but not terrible, because it’s not very big and it’s not hawking some cheap piece of crap as a souvenir, it’s just inviting you to have dinner there. My problem is with the people who try to market angel moroni keychains or I heart the temple bumperstickers in the areas surrounding the temple. |
Capitalizing on the temple is tasteless by definition, I agree. They could have done so much worse, though — “go to the temple and get gas,” anyone? If they simply couldn’t pass up a cheap opportunity at self-promotion, this is about as mild a thing as they could have done. |
MontanaMuse and others that can’t see the image, Try clicking or pasting into your browser: |
MCQ and Ardis, Yes, it certainly could have been much worse. I suppose they are to be congratulated for their restraint. |
I think it would be kinda cute to see something like that near a temple that is in a place with few Mormons. It would be like a little welcome from the neighbors. As it is, with the restaurant almost certainly owned by Mormons, for sure very tacky. |
It’s a business, and businesses shouldn’t discriminate. A Mormon’s dollar is just as good as a Baptist’s or a Catholic’s or a Buddhist’s. |
I disagree. I think this simple sign is just an indication of how little they think of us—they think that they can woo Mormons with this half-hearted effort. I would like to see them try harder, really delve into the Mormon psyche. For example, they could have sculpted an angel Moroni holding, instead of a trumpet, a large burrito up to his mouth. |
There is an establishment near Palmyra that puts “Welcome Mormons” on their marquee every July (pageant time). I always wonder if I am only welcome that month, and unwelcome the rest of the year. But I am probably being too critical. They are probably trying to be nice. |
interesting post – thanks. Now Brian is thinking – you are a genius. The Angel Moroni with a burrito – I love it! |
Sortta like this? |
We are talking Draper here folks, a town known known more for its prison than for its spring cotillion. |
The prison is in Bluffdale, not Draper. Draper is on the east side, and has always been a nice, if sleepy and kinda backward, community. The temple has been a huge change for that community, and the non-Mormons are not at all sure they like it. I spoke to my non-Mormon (Greek Orthodox) friend who lives a couple blocks from the temple just the other day and she was very resentful of the increased traffic and congestion. I suspect, however, that the businesses that locate there in the future and the existing ones that see increased customers (like Guad’s) will be happy for the new temple being there. |
MCQ, If your friend lives a couple of blocks from the temple then she is probably resented by the Draper old timers who aren’t too pleased with the increased traffic due to “outsiders” living in the area she lives in. |
Reminds me of a marquis (with a different audience, of course) that I saw in Palmyra: “Last cold beer before Hill Cumorah!” Yes, I took a picture. I thought it was funny, though. This other…just kinda weird. But I agree it could have been a lot worse. You kinda can’t blame a business for wanting to capitalize on a million people coming through the area. Hard when the sacred collides with the mundane in such a way. |
Guad’s faces a common decision in marketing. There are several groups of people to consider: 1. Local Mormons who don’t know about the place We could parse this out further by looking at “temple going Mormons” and “jack Mormons” and “anti-Mormons” and so on and so forth. Clearly, each of those groups will react differently to different forms of advertisement invoking the Church itself or Church-related material, though there will be some overlap. The emphasis in the ad in question is clearly on Non-local Mormons, who are probably unaware of any past tasteless advertising from Guad’s, and might actually be grateful for ANY info on where to do lunch after the open house. They’re not going to LOSE any already-devoted clientele for this, and might gain an extra out-of-towner. Why are we talking about this? I honestly lost track. |
Scott, An additional factor is that they spent next to nothing (other than their dignity, and what’s that worth?) to do this. And while they already lost me as a client it might be worth mentioning that this doubles my resolve to never go there. |
While I certainly appreciate the doubled resolve–and experience such reactions to incremental increases in stupidity from celebrities, politicians, and ward members on a fairly regular basis–my guess is that Guad’s figgered the maximum loss from such a scheme was considerably less than the maximum gain. I bet they’re right. |
Know what? I’d never heard of it. And now maybe I’ll check it out next time I’m visiting family in the area. It’s about as tasteless as half of the crap sold at Deseret Book, or the Mormon singers who troll around the country doing firesides at stake centers… |
Can I get a “hell-yea” or a “hell-nay”? Now, a “hell-yay” is really pushing the envelope if you ask me… |
