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Yours truly flew to Las Vegas this past weekend to visit the grandparents and hang out with some friends. Unfortunately, the trip was far more exhausting than relaxing and with temperatures hovering about 20 degrees above miserable, I wanted to do little more than soak my tank top in ice water and become one with the tile floor.
The ubiquitous catchphrase "What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas" intrigues me, not only because of its grammatical imperfections, but because... well, I just don't see how it lures people to the mecca of sweat and indulgence. I guess that's true of most advertising slogans I see and hear these days. Some are awfully clever, but I can't fathom how in the hell they sell a bloody thing?
Returning to the subject of Sin City, we were having lunch in a restaurant Sunday afternoon when a family parked itself to the booth across from us--grandparents clearly enjoying Father's Day with their two grandkids while the tots' parents were off doing things that will undoubtedly stay in Vegas.
First thing Granny did was reach into her huge granny purse and plop down a cylindrical container of antibacterial wipes right in the center of the table. Without words, the family sprung into action, yanking wipes from the mouth of the container and using them to feverishly wipe down everything in sight: utensils, glasses, plates, hands, etc. The finale was a supreme feat of synchronization--Gramps and kids lifting every single thing up off the table so that Granny Dearest could obsessively hose down the table itself, as if bacteria the size of tour buses had set up camp there, awaiting the grand opportunity to infect her family. Well, this phobic, fixated granny wasn't going to give them that opportunity! No siree!
Not exactly the type of deviant activity those Madison Avenue suits had in mind when they conjured up "What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas," I imagine.
Posted by ayelet at June 20, 2006 09:58 AMI think the people who "came up" with the new Vegas slogan were merely making a note of what most people feel about the city. I've heard people say "what happens..." for years but to actually make it a part of the advertising is strange, almost surreal.
Posted by: James at June 22, 2006 08:57 AMadmittedly i pull those wipes out at the grocery store to wipe the handle of the cart that my kid will be playing on for the whole shopping trip, and also did so on the airplane seat (tray table, window ledge, arm rests, etc.) because, well, EWW! but man, that poor kid is going to get the freaking plague if the parents & grandparents do that every time they're out.
we're so germ-phobic as a society now. unreal. you know me.. i'm still of the "G-d made dirt & dirt don't hurt" school of thought. I suppose i could say the same for my brother & sis-in-law in a really nasty sort of way.... oy, someone's going to strike me down for that one...
Posted by: Aviva at June 21, 2006 07:40 PM