Controversial Roadhouse Rememberance day radio ad

[jayswin]

http://www.calgarysun.com/2011/11/01...nkles-veterans

Sponsored by The Roadhouse Nightclub & Bar in Calgary, the short-lived radio ad on 90.3 Amp Radio told listeners the thing really worth remembering on Nov. 11 was partying at the Roadhouse the night before.

What do you think; Overeaction, or are people justified in being pissed off at this radio ad that the Roadhouse was running on Amp Radio?

Here's some quotes from the ad...

What will you remember on Nov. 11th? That you were at the Roadhouse the night before and didn’t have to go to work the next day

On Friday Nov. 11, you will remember you had the best night ever the day before

..and the reaction from a retired vet.

It takes a lot to upset a young Canadian veteran like Ryan Preston, but one Calgary nightclub managed to do just that, thanks to an ill-considered and obnoxious radio advertisement.
“It made me sick to my stomach to hear it,” said Preston, a retired corporal with the Second Battalion of Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry

What a joke — it’s sad to see that people think of Nov. 11th as just another day off.
“The Roadhouse club just thinks of it as a day off, so people can come to their club the night before and get drunk and not worry about work the next day.”

Personally, it seems like a pretty crappy idea for an advertisment, although I'm sure someone will chime in with "any publicity is good publicity", so therefore it was a good idea. I'm not really outraged because it's just one stupid marketing team that had a stupid idea, but it's still kind of disrespectful, and it's good to hear that they are caving and changing the ad.

[Ozy_Flame]

A disgrace of monumental proportions. The marketing team should be fired at that already crappy establishment.

[JiriHrdina]

Dumb dumb dumb.

Whoever came up with the ad should be fired. And frankly I'm really surprised AMP allowed it to air.

Lots of balls dropped.

Brutal.

[pylon]

There is no debate here. It is a disrespectful move, by a piece of garbage establishment that has zero redeeming qualities. The only redeeming qualities the place may have on the surface, will have you pissing fire, and getting you a lifetime dependancy on Valtrex.

What a loser move, by a loser establishment.

[OffsideSpecialist]

I'm shocked at that. I don't think you would find many people to debate that this is a disgusting move by that bar. I'm surprised the radio station would allow that #### on the air!

Oh well, it looks like I can scratch one bar off my list next time I'm in Calgary...

[Ozy_Flame]

I'm going to go out on a limb and say that place probably lets a few dim-witted 18-24 year olds run their marketing department. I mean, who the F goes out of town (the manager) and doesn't know this kind of ad is going live to a million Calgarians? I think Dobson should look long and hard in the mirror himself and consider smartening up as well as hiring a new cast of bar stars - ones who at least have the decency to respect a long-standing tradition.

[Dan02]

Poor taste for sure and probably piss off some veterans, but lets be honest why would the Roadhouse care about what anyone over the age of 22 cares?

And Ozy just because it doesn't suit your tastes doesn't necessarily mean it's a crappy poorly run establishment. If the operation/marketing sucked wouldn't have changed management/ownership every year like pretty much every other bar in Calgary.

The potential backlash here is much higher for AMP then for the Roadhouse.

I say this as a person who lives 4 blocks away yet still hasn't been to the Roadhouse since a stampede pub crawl a few years ago. Just because you don't like the way it's run/marketed doesn't mean it's bad at it

[Beerfest]

Dumb advertisement.


People are still going to go out to the bar on Thursday, but its the way they went about advertising it thats going to annoy lots of people.


I went out last year on Wednesday with friends and might go out again on Thursday this year.


I still have the utmost respect for our war veterans.

[OffsideSpecialist]

Originally Posted by Dan02

Poor taste for sure and probably piss off some veterans, but lets be honest why would the Roadhouse care about what anyone over the age of 22 cares?

I'm still under 22. And I care. I don't think you should generalize based upon age, there are a lot of younger people that take Remembrance Day very seriously.

[Mango]

I just saw their poster. It has the wrong date on it to boot.

[LGA]

They could have at least gone with the "because of the sacrifices our veterans have made" to not make it a complete tool ad. Instead they went full moron on this one and deserve to all be fired, or enlisted in the army and shipped out immediately.

[Ozy_Flame]

Originally Posted by Dan02

And Ozy just because it doesn't suit your tastes doesn't necessarily mean it's a crappy poorly run establishment. If the operation/marketing sucked wouldn't have changed management/ownership every year like pretty much every other bar in Calgary.

You're right, I take that back. I should have realized how awesome the place was when they had Snooki and Ronnie host parties and get krunked with all the pre-teens (who, BTW, help keep that place in business). My bad.

[Dan02]

Originally Posted by OffsideSpecialist

I'm still under 22. And I care. I don't think you should generalize based upon age, there are a lot of younger people that take Remembrance Day very seriously.

Are you a regular Roadhouse client?

[OffsideSpecialist]

Originally Posted by Dan02

Are you a regular Roadhouse client?

Obviously not, but I do frequent bars and would not go to one that pulled that kind of BS. When I go to Calgary, I will take my money elsewhere.

[Dan02]

Originally Posted by Ozy_Flame

You're right, I take that back. I should have realized how awesome the place was when they had Snooki and Ronnie host parties and get krunked with all the pre-teens (who, BTW, help keep that place in business). My bad.

you seem to be completely missing my boat here, I never said it was awesome, it's not like I'm a customer, that doesn't preclude it from being a fairly successful business.

You're probably one of those people complaining about the money the Kardashians make, while lying to themselves and thinking they wouldn't sell themselves out for that kinda cash if they thought they had a chance in hell of it actually happening.

Perhaps you belong down at a certain gathering near city hall.

[Mango]

[Dan02]

Originally Posted by OffsideSpecialist

Obviously not, but I do frequent bars and would not go to one that pulled that kind of BS. When I go to Calgary, I will take my money elsewhere.

exactly my point, while you might fit the age range, you don't fit the demographic which frequents there. So in short why would they care what you think?

[OffsideSpecialist]

How do you know I don't fit the demographic that would go there (location aside)? Just because I think a ######ed ad they put on the radio is ######ed?

[Dan02]

Originally Posted by OffsideSpecialist

How do you know I don't fit the demographic that would go there (location aside)? Just because I think a ######ed ad they put on the radio is ######ed?

Because you just said you don't go there...