Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
chise opening in 2005. The company responsible for the marketing and advertising of
the brand describes the “target market” as “male and female customers in the A and
B income bracket within an age group of 21-35, with the emphasis being our female
customers.” They have a profit margin of approximately 64%, and they are one of the
most costly drinking venues in the city. The establishment allocates approximately 2%
of its operating budget to advertising and marketing in both electronic and print media.
Indeed, the social and economic milieu in which the club is located is captured most
strikingly by the following online advertisement for the establishment:
Sometimesapubandabeerjustisn'tenough.That'swhenyouthrowthoseheels
onunderyourjeans(youdon'twanttolooklikeyou'retryingtoohard,afterall),
button up that shirt, run a comb through your hair and head on over to Jacks
… This bar is crowded with the inland yuppie set, all looking each other over
(discreetly, of course). So you can strike a pose by the bar with your Cookies
and Cream Cocktail (but not too many if you want to stay worth looking at) or
any number of yummy and colourful options, and see what's on offer. There are
plenty of tables once you've caught your quarry, and a menu of light meals and
other notables to keep those hands busy.
ThebardoublesasaclubspaceonTuesdayandFridaynightsandasarestaurantdur-
ing the day. Whilst Jacks caters to various musical genres, its website boasts that, apart
from striving to bring its patrons “the best [South Africa] has to offer,” one can usually
expect to find its “own DJ's playing the hottest global tracks” on club nights. Specific-
ally, these “global tracks” are drawn primarily from the genres of Top 40, dance, and
rock music. Inside the club there are six large flat-screen televisions which are invari-
ably tuned to either fashion TV or one of several sports channels. The bar is a sleek
and metallic chrome, the tables and chairs also metallic and functional, giving the over-
all impression of a place which (when not covered with the dubious remnants of the
night's excess) strives for the minimalism often associated with the contemporary, urb-
an,middle-upperclass.Theprivilegeenactedwithinthisspace,however,isnotconfined
tomattersofeconomy,butalsosetsthestagefortheperformanceandrecitationofmany
daily privileges; including those of race and gender.
On club nights the large plasma screens are tuned to fashion TV. Late in the evening,
the broadcasts on this channel focus predominantly on more risqué programming such
as lingerie shows and fantasy segments also aimed at selling lingerie. For example, on
oneoccasiontheprogrammingconsistedofafewshortsequencesinwhichmodelswere
dressed as French maids who dusted each other in a manner similar to some genres of
pornography. The women may, at times, be ethnically diverse but are all thin and selec-
ted to represent a particular ideal of attractiveness. They are presented in varying states
