[See
previous post for context]
Never, ever underestimate the combined power of blogs and
Stacy's wrath.
Stacy - and everyone else who emailed Hooters today - received this response from Hooters management:
Thank you for expressing your concern regarding the contest in Florida. A store manager decided to host an event for the employee's children which is not a part of Hooters National Marketing promotions, and has been cancelled.
Best regards,
Alexis Aleshire
Marketing
Hooters of America
1815 The Exchange
Atlanta, GA 30339
Added Stacy:
That sounds like an utter load of horseshit to me, but the goal of getting the damned thing cancelled has been accomplished. Many thanks to everyone who linked to this and sent email to Hooters. GO TEAM!!!
Damn straight. Thanks for taking the intiative, Stacy.
Update: Interesting update from Stacy:
bq. **UPDATE the seventh - Husband just arrived home and reminded me of the phone conversation he had with the Hooters employee last night (he's the one that made the call)...and the person on the phone told us there was no entry fee and to be sure to get there early to sign up. Gee, that really sounds like an "event for the employee's children" doesn't it. NOT. I've emailed the Hooters rep with this bit of info, curious to see what she/he comes back with.
Verrrry interesting.
Comments
Nice work. I'm spreading the news.
Posted by: Slant Point | May 21, 2004 03:18 PM
hmmm...edit out the errata and you get
"A store manager ... has been cancelled."
one can only hope.
Posted by: Mr. Bingley | May 21, 2004 03:39 PM
Mountain out of a molehill?
I think so.
And I'm not sure what part of the response Stacey thought was "bullshit" -- seems pretty straight-forward and legit to me.
Posted by: Pete | May 21, 2004 03:42 PM
Did you guys hear something...? Sounded like a faint buzzing...
Posted by: Sekimori | May 21, 2004 04:05 PM
is that not power? Way to go!!!!
(As a father of a girl)
Posted by: Chuck | May 21, 2004 04:16 PM
still love your taste in music
Posted by: Chuck | May 21, 2004 04:18 PM
Pete, can't speak for Sekimori, but I'd say the odor of BS comes directly from this bit: "A store manager decided to host an event for the employee's children which is not a part of Hooters National Marketing promotions" (emphasis mine).
Employee-related events and contests are not, at most venues, advertised on the public marquee. Not at any restaurant I've waitressed or tended bar in the 10+ years I spent in the hospitality industry anyway. I suspect is was not in fact an 'employee' event, but is being passed off as that after the fact, in an attempt at damage control.
;-)
Posted by: Jen | May 21, 2004 04:20 PM
Well put, Jen. Now, Pete... care to explain your molehill?
Posted by: insomni | May 21, 2004 04:34 PM
I can see that, possibly, Jen... but it's difficult to say whose bullshit that is if, in fact, it's bullshit -- that could've been the story the manager told the PR folks. But I guess things are all right in certain people's little worlds so long as they just assume the PR folks to be lying sacks of crap to start with.
As for the molehill, insomni... it just seems to me that a bigger issue was made of this than was necessary. But hey, whatever keeps people busy. A lengthier discussion of it is not really fit for Michele's comments.
Posted by: Pete | May 21, 2004 05:15 PM
Pete just likes to kick shit all over the place. Ignoring him is my plan.
Posted by: Sekimori | May 21, 2004 05:28 PM
Oh yeah. That's me. Troll extraordinaire. Even got me an official-looking name-badge. eye roll
Someone needs to do a little more research before running his/her mouth.
Posted by: Pete | May 21, 2004 05:36 PM
Maybe Pete should enter his son into a "Little Mr. Chippendale"?
Posted by: Lauren | May 21, 2004 05:50 PM
A lengthier discussion of it is not really fit for Michele's comments.
Nor are you.
Posted by: michele | May 21, 2004 05:56 PM
I was on the other page and I just heard of this.Is this real?Did Hooters really think this was a good idea?Is the manager of this Hooters one of the registered sex offenders in the area?I never concidered Hooters a family resturant but I do go from time to time but I dont take my grandkids in there.I dont think that in and of itself is apropriate,but to clad your 5yr old girl in spandex im sorry is a problem.
Posted by: Malisa | May 21, 2004 05:59 PM
Nor are you.
My apologies, Michele -- I didn't realize disagreements were out of line. Your house, your rules. I'll keep my nose out of the comments from here on out.
Posted by: Pete | May 21, 2004 06:36 PM
A larger discussion is not necessary? Bigger issue than necessary? It is small things like this that need to get nipped in the bud right away. It can be the tip of the iceberg (to use more cliches) of growing problems. You fuel that industry in your town, money flows, it grows, and pretty soon you are fighting to get zoning laws keeping smut parlors x amount of feet from a school.
Posted by: Slant Point | May 21, 2004 06:38 PM
Disagreements are always welcome, Pete. People who come here with the soul purpose of being a bitch are not. And that is you, Pete. You never just comment, you always have to be snide.
Posted by: michele | May 21, 2004 06:47 PM
Oh, no, we're all clearly overreacting. We should just go back to our boring lives and not get so worked up over these things. Go fuck yourself, Pete. You have offered exactly jack shit to this discussion. You point out one thing in my "research" that was erroneous. Come on, smartass, let's go.
Posted by: Sekimori | May 21, 2004 06:49 PM
Troll successfully dispatched Seki.
Only a moron, or worse, would defend this stupid stunt. But I beleive it was just a stupid stunt, promulgated by an idiot, and the mighty cluebat has been successfully deployed.
But vigilence, that is evermore.
You hear, Alexis?
Posted by: spd rdr | May 21, 2004 07:52 PM
Did they cancel it, or just rename it...
the billboard now advertises a "swimsuit" contest, and that dovetails with the corporate and rumored-by-some-guy posts description of the contest as a kiddie "swimwear" event.
They already lied about it being for employee children only, so I wouldn't be shocked if they shilly-shallied about canceling the hooters kiddie pageant.
Posted by: SarahW | May 21, 2004 09:02 PM
Wow... this is sick. JonBenet Ramsey all over again. When will people understand how damaging this is to a young child? Regardless of the intentions of "Hooter's National Marketing", what about the parents who were planning on allowing their daughters to participate in this "contest"? To me that's even worse, since this kind of morally bankrupt behavior can be expected from an entity whose sole purpose is profit; parents, on the other hand, should be concerned with protecting their children, which includes keeping them out of situations that are likely to have long-term negative psychological effects. Big picture aside, who the hell would want to see their little daughter parading around on stage looking like a tramp? Or any five-year-old, for that matter?
Posted by: Mike | May 21, 2004 09:29 PM
Three words:
South. Park. Raisins.
Once again, Parker and Stone were ahead of the curve.
Posted by: Charles | May 21, 2004 10:42 PM
Pete,
Michelle likes it when people comment. Except when they disagree with her.
Posted by: Chris A | May 22, 2004 08:02 AM
Asshole. Maybe if you actually read my comments, you could figure out how false that statement is.
Posted by: michele | May 22, 2004 08:06 AM
The "Hooters Headquarters" response to all the emails seemed an attempt to comfort the concerned that this was just the invention of some rogue store manager, and not a part of "Hooters National Promotions".
I think that's a line they keep around for emergencies - apparently thats how they run all of their local promotions. They are all "decisions" made by individual store Managers from idea lists distributed to store managers. (ala the TOY YODA incident)
I had a feeling I'd seen something on late night TV about this years ago...
Turns out I wasn't confabulating
"Little Miss Hooters" isn't any recent invention.
This guy keeps an archive of late night jokes.
On 11/17/00, Leno did one of his "headlines" bits - that night featuring an ad for "Little Miss Hooters"
(scroll down or do word search on page)
As I recall, it drew a "that's really icky" groan from the audience.
Posted by: SarahW | May 22, 2004 09:00 AM