Valentines Day

There is no end to marketing creativity. No end to glamorizing the ordinary. No end to what will motivate people to buy your product. But is there an end to good taste?

A Toronto Restaurateur is taking Valentines Day to a new level by encouraging patrons to get "frisky" in their bathrooms. Is this the end (or just the beginning) of "the new" creativity?

This article from the Huffington Post says it all.

Visitors to Mildred's Temple Kitchen, a restaurant in Toronto, Canada, are invited to spice up their love life this Valentine's Day with a trip to the bathroom.

"Have you given any thought to moving beyond the bedroom?" patrons were asked in a not-too-subtle promotional e-mail.

The individual bathrooms will be open for sexual escapades from the 12th-15th of February. According to the manager, Rory Gallagher, a french maid will be working the toilets, making sure everything is "going smoothly and kept clean."

"We've always had little trysts in our bathrooms," co-owner Donna Dooher told The Toronto Star. "We're taking it to the next level on Valentine's weekend." She added that customers are expected to bring their own condoms.

Perhaps surprisingly, Toronto's Public Health food safety program manager said the restaurant wasn't breaking any laws as long as there's no intercourse in the kitchen and the bathrooms are kept clean.

"As far as bodily fluids, it's pretty much similar to the other human functions going on in there," said Chan, slightly undercutting the erotic value of the venture.

While I am all for product differentiation as a marketing strategy; somehow, for me, this spills over the line.

What do you think of this strategy?