Not all New Yorkers realize that the omnipresent drugstore Duane Reade gets its name from its very first location in downtown Manhattan, on Broadway between Duane and Reade Streets.
I suppose that’s why they think they can get away with this billboard ad that shows the intersection of Duane and Reade — which simply doesn’t exist. The streets are parallel to one another and do not, ever, intersect.
In doing a bit of research for this post (looking for the original address, specifically), I found myself on the Duane Reade website. Much to my dismay, the same false image is right there on their About Us page. And the worst part? Their excuse sucks!
Duane Reade takes its name from the Company’s first successful full-service drugstore, which opened in 1960 on Broadway between Duane and Reade Streets in Manhattan. (Yes, we know they don’t intersect…it makes for a better picture!)
I’m irritated by the falsification not only because it’s misleading, but also because it’s completely unnecessary. How does depicting the streets as intersecting actually benefit anyone, the company or its customers?
I take my New York geography very seriously, and frankly, I’m downright insulted. As if Duane Reade wasn’t already giving me enough reasons to shop somewhere else.
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They have a much bigger user experience problem in-store. DR always made me imagine I was queued in a 1980s bread ration line in one of the smaller Soviet Republics.