Crossing the sauce at The Causeway ~ an exclusive private island retreat
At first glance of this ad for an "exclusive private island retreat," the desire was strong to make fun of it because its name: "The Causeway." I pictured myself watching the Kennedy family traveling to Cape Cod and driving by my cardboard lean-to along the causeway.
Then when I saw that they were actually portraying the retreat as a non-paradise island escape, I felt some sympathy. We know clearly from that table cloth and billiards table that these people know they’re English.
They also weren’t afraid to show the English-country interiors and the medley of English architecture. So I thought maybe a good review was in order. I started typing away about how nice it was to see an island retreat without a single visual reference to a palm tree.
Then I made my way to their website whose Flash opener had this little loading message:
Paradise loading or loaded paradise? How special do they think this place is? I flipped back to a state of derision. I was totally confused as to who these people thought they were at this point, so I returned to the ad to start poring over the actual words they used. It wasn’t until after the opening paragraph about how idyllic the place is in its proximity to London that they actually start alluding to the fact that this is a substance abuse getaway.
"Our experience and success in helping guests move beyond underlying problems and onto the path of true recovery." True recovery? So now I think that "The Causeway" might actually be a metaphor for "crossing the sauce."
Overall, this ad and their website is a strange representation of the resort. While they state that they handle inquiries discretely, they should be a little less discrete in telling people what they’re doing. They’re probably getting a lot of people reading their ad who might not need their services (or who want to come for an everyday English countryside retreat) and having some readers who are just passing over it not realizing that maybe this could be a great place to detox. There is no need for cheesy names or escapist allusions for what is probably a really great place to help people overcome serious problems.
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Posted on November 7, 2007
Filed Under Islands, Ships, Yachts, and Boats, Travel |
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