Stupid gimmicks are not a purely American invention. As evidence, take the Ice Bar. It took me a while to figure it out, even after an attendant explained it to me.
In celebration of Qingdao’s MixC Mall grand opening, this big box was set up in one of the mall lobbies. Any customer who met the minimum spend – I think it was something like $100 – could gain entry into the exclusive “Ice Bar.”
The Ice Bar did not actually serve drinks inside. It was just a refrigerated room, kept below freezing. Once you proved you had spent enough money in the mall, they gave you a big blue coat. Then they let you go stand in the freezer for something like ten minutes.
I know air conditioning is not as common in other countries as the U.S., and in late May it was already hot in Qingdao. So I could see the cold room as a refreshing break from excessive heat. But the Ice Bar was inside the mall, which was air conditioned to a lovely, comfortable temperature.
