ads: wine bar or sex dungeon?

Ad for Veritas Wine Bar. Come out of the closet and into the cellar.

Saw this ad for Veritas Wine Bar in today’s Express and I couldn’t help but wonder if it was intended for next month’s Pride publications. Or has come out of the closet finally reached the state of general cultural usage?

I remember growing up, a host on the local public television pledge drive said “Come on out, all you closet Whovians!” in an attempt to get more pledges. It was visibly not well received by his co-host. So I admit that their ad could refer to closet wine drinkers/lovers*, but I still think it’s much easier to arrive at the queer conclusion.

* Not alcoholics, one hopes.

You may also like...

3 Responses

  1. Kyle says:

    1. Yes, “come out of the closet”, and even “come out” and “closet” have become general public usage. We simply talked too much around the hets, and they acquired our terminology. *grumble*

    2. I think our whole culture has shifted, to the point that any given middle-class urbanite has at least a little bit of inner Adam Lambert wanting to bust out and promenade. So this Veritas® ad appeals to that inner sense of wanting to be just a little bit outré. These days we market lifestyle imagery, not products. Maybe Biff Smithington can get just a little flog across the bum while he sips his wine.

    Fascinating.

    latest entry: religion, spirituality and philosophy

  2. lacochran says:

    I know people that have made a “wine cellar” out of a closet but I like your explanation better.

    latest entry: "Been in so many places" –Jim Croce

  3. Brian says:

    I’ve heard the term “Come out of the ______ closet” before, usually a play on coming out, but never seen “come out of the closet” without directly referencing homosexuals.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *