Sloganeering the blues

Unity in Diversity … does that sound like a phrase from your employee relations manual? While its generic positivity could be adapted for nearly any purpose, I was still a bit surprised to see that it is a slogan for the House of Blues, that chain of theme restaurant/entertainment venues that don’t yet exist here in metro Detroit (but who knows, might show up sometime after the equally people-lovin’ Hard Rock Café does). So, this corporate giant is covering its obvious theft of what it considers to be black culture by promoting diversity. For $259, be part of humankind (remember, we’re all brothers and sisters) with a black wool and leather jacket featuring the House of Blues logo, the Unity in Diversity slogan and various religious symbols embroidered on the back (available at www.hob.com). Of course, during a recent visit to the HOB in Las Vegas, the restaurant, which oddly resembled the swamp settings in the teen classic Porky’s, was about as diverse as an Oakland County country club.

Tom A’Hearn pays attention here every other week. E-mail [email protected]