The Future of Branding?

As promised, we returned to the restaurant located in the Mini Cooper dealership to investigate this peculiar marketing trend further. We ordered two licuados (fresh fruit shakes), one peach and one banana, and took in the scene.


A couple of observations. Do you have to be interested in buying a car to eat there? No. Do you have to own a car to eat there? No. Do you have to steel your subconscious mind from the overwhelming number of marketing messages while you eat there? Yes.



You see, the restaurant - apparently a destination for the style-conscious person with disposable income, the kind who COULD afford to own a car that's not a Fiat - turned out to be a tangled web of cross-promotion. From the American Express tablewear to the Hugo Boss menu covers to the Delta Airlines frosted signs on the windows, we were bombarded by international branding.



And how did we feel about all this? Extremely odd...and then slightly cool...and then slightly uncomfortable for feeling slightly cool. In the end, at least the drinks were refreshing.