Lord Bracknell
On fire
White House brothel ad angers US
The job boasts fantastic staff, money and conditions
A newspaper advertisement headlined "Prostitutes Required" for a club "downstairs at The White House" has riled US officials in New Zealand.
The crossed Stars and Stripes and bald eagle logo may appear to suggest the Bush administration has branched out, but the advert is in fact for a brothel in Auckland looking for new ladies for its nightclub, Monica's.
It appeared in newspapers shortly after New Zealand's Parliament voted to decriminalise prostitution and pimping and allow licensed brothels to operate under public health and employment laws.
The US Embassy has sent a letter to the business complaining that the advert, especially the logo, is in poor taste.
An embassy spokeswoman said: "We believe that any likeness of a national government symbol in a commercial advertisement is in extremely poor taste.
"We are sending a letter to the advertiser that expresses our disappointment and displeasure about their choice of symbolism."
'Classy'
The advert boasts that "the oldest profession is now a legal profession" and vacancies are available for day and night shifts, no experience necessary.
The brothel's theme is unashamedly American and the building even has white columns outside similar to the US President's residence.
One local paper reported that during the previous US administration the women working at the complex wore blue dresses like that of former White House intern Monica Lewinsky.
The bordello's owner Brian Legros was unrepentant.
"They don't own the White House," he told news agency Associated Press.
"They should get on with the affairs of their country and not worry about little old New Zealand."
Mr Legros said it was a "tasteful, classy, business" not a "terrible little whorehouse on the corner full of drugs and gangs".
He said he had spent a lot of money on the crests, which were on the carpets and stained glass windows.
"It's my crest," he said. "It might look like theirs, but it's not."
A member of staff told BBC News Online that they had not yet heard anything from the US officials.
He said the business's advertising campaign had been effective and added that clients from around the world had never complained about the US theme.
The President's White House used to have its own Monica
The job boasts fantastic staff, money and conditions
A newspaper advertisement headlined "Prostitutes Required" for a club "downstairs at The White House" has riled US officials in New Zealand.
The crossed Stars and Stripes and bald eagle logo may appear to suggest the Bush administration has branched out, but the advert is in fact for a brothel in Auckland looking for new ladies for its nightclub, Monica's.
It appeared in newspapers shortly after New Zealand's Parliament voted to decriminalise prostitution and pimping and allow licensed brothels to operate under public health and employment laws.
The US Embassy has sent a letter to the business complaining that the advert, especially the logo, is in poor taste.
An embassy spokeswoman said: "We believe that any likeness of a national government symbol in a commercial advertisement is in extremely poor taste.
"We are sending a letter to the advertiser that expresses our disappointment and displeasure about their choice of symbolism."
'Classy'
The advert boasts that "the oldest profession is now a legal profession" and vacancies are available for day and night shifts, no experience necessary.
The brothel's theme is unashamedly American and the building even has white columns outside similar to the US President's residence.
One local paper reported that during the previous US administration the women working at the complex wore blue dresses like that of former White House intern Monica Lewinsky.
The bordello's owner Brian Legros was unrepentant.
"They don't own the White House," he told news agency Associated Press.
"They should get on with the affairs of their country and not worry about little old New Zealand."
Mr Legros said it was a "tasteful, classy, business" not a "terrible little whorehouse on the corner full of drugs and gangs".
He said he had spent a lot of money on the crests, which were on the carpets and stained glass windows.
"It's my crest," he said. "It might look like theirs, but it's not."
A member of staff told BBC News Online that they had not yet heard anything from the US officials.
He said the business's advertising campaign had been effective and added that clients from around the world had never complained about the US theme.
The President's White House used to have its own Monica
