In 1968, a New York City bar and restaurant on 86th St called Barney Google’s became briefly famous — and notorious — for serving customers in a way that was literally “eye-catching.”
Instead of handing out printed menus, the waitresses at Barney Google’s had the day’s offerings written directly on their bodies in black marker, usually while wearing only bikinis or underwear. This “human menu” gimmick listed food and drink prices right across the torso, so customers had to read the waitresses themselves to decide what to order.
The idea was dreamed up by the bar’s management as a publicity stunt during the height of the late-1960s anything-goes nightlife culture in New York. It played into the era’s fascination with breaking social taboos, sexual liberation, and turning dining into a form of entertainment. The place was a Greenwich Village hangout that catered to a young, adventurous crowd and relied on quirky, risqué touches to stand out in a competitive scene.
The stunt worked — photographers and reporters swarmed in, and the “Barney Google’s body menu” photos ran in papers and magazines across the country. However, the attention was mixed: while it was celebrated as playful by some, others criticized it as gimmicky and objectifying. Like most fads of the era, it didn’t last long, but it remains one of those instantly recognizable snapshots of 1960s nightlife excess and cheeky marketing.
0 comments:
Post a Comment