Dr. Sabrina Segal

The slumping economy has hit every industry, including the world’s oldest profession. Legal brothels are big business in Nevada but revenue is down 25-45% from their $35-50 million annual revenues. Part of this is attributed to higher gas and diesel prices resulting in less disposable income for an important clientele, truckers.

Times are changing in Nevada, which was once thought to be recession-proof. The State is facing a $1 Billion budget shortfall. Last July, the ACLU mounted an attack on laws from the 1970s that made it illegal for brothels to advertise outside of their immediate areas.

Sex sells, but what are appropriate communication channels for advertising? Perhaps the first would be to exploit a slogan like “What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas.”

The industry is split among liberals, conservatives and others who see the new freedom to advertise as a blessing and a curse. But it makes sense in the wake of a past governor who stopped an effort to place a $2 per customer tax on brothels because “he didn’t want to have a ‘sex tax’ as his legacy.”

Some feel that “it is foolish to put up billboards that only irritate more than they attract.” Many of the owners are shifting gears and offering gas cards for frequent customers, while other establishments make the 10th visit is free.

If Enzyte can figure out how to effectively advertise a male enhancement drug filled with humorous innuendo, then brothels can come up with ways to portray their business on billboards without kids seeing inappropriate materials. One owner has already purchased eight highway billboards that say ”The party’s at Wild Horse”

General Manager for the Wild Horse says “we have a moral responsibility to the wider world. I wouldn’t want my children to see something inappropriate. But these billboard ads are just little cartoon horses.”

How do you feel about seeing a billboard for a brothel on a highway in Nevada? How about one in your hotel lobby in Las Vegas? Where do we draw the line regarding graphics and language?

Photograph Credit:
Sabrina Segal