Wait, what’s the date again? No, you’re right, April Fool’s Day was two months ago. This is no joke, although we wish it was. The initiative is aimed at helping managers get ‘the right people’ through the doors without having to work with promoters.
Model Restaurant (which has gained – ahem – 279 followers on Instagram since its launch this month) is now asking models – or at least people who consider themselves ‘beautiful’ – to get in touch with the agency on Instagram in order to bag themselves a free meal. The agency will match the model with a suitable restaurant in their area where a complimentary dinner will be sorted out.
The man (hmmm…) behind it all is investor and restauranteur Giovanbattista Cimmino, who set up London-based social marketing agency SocialAsk. The company claims it is ‘already achieving great successes’ in a recent press release.
Are you beautiful enough to be picked up by Model Restaurant?
Cimmino says he considers this a great marketing opportunity for restaurants. Aforementioned press release starts off by saying models and Instagram influencers have been posting snaps of themselves at top restaurants for years now, but there’s almost always a bill to pay after the meal, before continuing to talk about how ‘everyone in the hospitality industry understands the importance of great aesthetics and atmosphere’.
A quote from Cimmino reads: “Reputation and image is really important in the restaurant industry, and models are always great new places to be seen [sic]. This new initiative is a win/win for both restaurateurs and models, but getting beautiful faces in the right venues and providing models with free meals. [sic]”
There’s no denying social media influencers have a huge role to play in attracting people to certain restaurants – Sketch and Elan Café are just two examples of restaurants that have gained a lot of popularity through social media – but there’s something distinctly icky about targeting ‘beautiful people’ specifically for this initiative. In a world where social media is criticised for fostering a mentality of vainness and ultimately, for contributing toward feelings of insecurity, is this really what we need?
We have yet to discover which London restaurants are working with Model Restaurant on this new initiative, but we’re intrigued to see its development…
If you think you’re beautiful enough to get a free dinner, you can get in touch with Model Restaurants on Instagram.