More on Figlio advertisement

I first wrote about the Figlio restaurant billboard a few weeks ago. I thought it was mildly offensive, but mostly I'm perplexed why this is a clever advertising scheme.

The Deets also did a bit on the issue and linked to my post. One of the ensuing discussions was whether the picture is supposed to be a "regular" aging hooker or a transvestite aging hooker. The question hadn't occurred to me when I first saw it. I guess looking at it now, I would hazard to guess it is a trannie, but I don't see how that really matters.

The billboard is reportedly in several places around Minneapolis. The below picture is on 7th Street, near the intersection with 5th Avenue, in downtown Minneapolis.

Thoughts?

Working the corner

So, recently Target got a little bit of attention with billboards with suspicious placement of its trademark target image.

Right now in Minneapolis I had the pleasure of seeing a billboard for pseudo-Italian restaurant, Figlio. Figlio is located in Uptown at Lake Street and Hennepin in the Calhoun Square "mall." It's one of those places that I thought was a cool destination when I was in college and wanted to have a night out in the city. Mix Figlio with a movie at Lagoon, and you're set. Now, older and wiser, I don't go there. It's not that they are bad. It's just that there are many better options.

Anywho. Figlio has a billboard in downtown Minneapolis, and presumably elsewhere in the Twin Citites, with the tagline that they've been "working the corner" for a couple decades. It features the picture of what one concludes is an elderly prostitute. My better half theorizes they are using Chino Latino's ad consultants. I later discover that this is probably true, as Figlio and Chino Latino are owned by the same company, which incidentally, also includes Manny's Steakhouse, Good Earth, and Muffuletta.

The billboard tells us that Figlio is a hip place, I guess, for only hip people. If you don't like the billboard, then you aren't part of their exclusive clientèle. I don't see how aging hookers are supposed to get you in the mood for mediocre pasta in a noisy restaurant, but I guess I'm missing the point.