Image:  Facebook

Dazzled

Periodically I receive in my mailbox that blue envelope that's full of coupons for area businesses, ranging from vinyl siding to restaurants.

One of the recent Valpak offerings made my eyes bug out. Across the top of the ad for a business called Dazzle, a banner blared "The Gayest Cleaning Company in America!"

Wow. Using gayness as a selling point. Only in Seattle.

The second letter in "Dazzle" was stylized into a house—with vertical rainbow stripes. On the back of the ad, a dog wearing a scarf and oversized sunglasses, holding a glass of champagne and colorful shopping bags, didn't exactly suggest cleaning, so I guess that was another gay reference.

I realized I'd automatically gone into decoding mode while looking over the insert. I wouldn't have thought twice about the phrasing for any other cleaning company's ad. But I thought several times about Dazzle's offer of a discount for deluxe cleaning that promised to be "top to bottom."