In an advertisement that reads like a satirical take on what millennials want to hear, condo developer Woodbridge Homes is now offering...
...a year of free avocado toast to anyone who moves into one of their condos.
The new development is in the city of West Coquitlam, near Vancouver, British Columbia.
Being part of the metro Vancouver area, it seems like The Kira would be a convenient place to live. With the prices of condos ranging from $297,225 to $483,023, though, it's probably going to struggle to attract the (largely still broke) millennial crowd to its:
"spacious modern interiors… designed to maximize the natural sunlight flowing into each home."
Munchies reported that Jamie Howard, Woodbridge Homes president, told The Star:
"Saving for a down payment does require some saving and sacrificing."
"At the Kira project, we say you can have your avocado toast and eat it too."
The 10% down-payment required for Kira is lower than the average 15-20%, but is still going to be prohibitively expensive for many millennials, even if they don't have to pay for their own avocado toast.
Twitter users very much enjoyed ragging on the listing.
@timescolonist I guess free skinny jeans and an instragram lounge was too much?— Theo Pinion (@Theo Pinion) 1556633754.0
@KeithKanemoto Finally! Something to get those millennials to buy real estate!— Christopher Hill (@Christopher Hill) 1556706989.0
@KCBSRadio Better be hungry. 🙄 #Vancouver #Millennials #AvocadoToast https://t.co/0dLAhgwiNd— Scott Maier (@Scott Maier) 1556653636.0
Others were convinced the listing couldn't possibly be real.
@StephenPunwasi This is satire right 😂😂— Mark Van Wasit (@Mark Van Wasit) 1556755351.0
@mark_van_wasit Our whole lives seem like satire at this point. 😂— Stephen Punwasi (@Stephen Punwasi) 1556755663.0
@StephenPunwasi This has to be a joke— Hamzah Ali Khan (@Hamzah Ali Khan) 1556755681.0
Turns out it's actually only one avocado toast per week, in the form of a gift card for a local restaurant.
@StephenPunwasi Sorry Stephen, but you only get 1 Avocado toast per week... Gotta read the fine print! 🥑 https://t.co/WO0iqGBfm2— roller2003 (@roller2003) 1556762180.0
Nobody is sure whether this was a true marketing effort or an attempt to capitalize on the tropes about millennials for publicity.
@AlexChalekian Millennial cliché marketing campaigns 101: Avocado toast gets clicks 😆— ⚡️Robert Sofia⚡️ (@⚡️Robert Sofia⚡️) 1556670007.0
Some wanted developers to go back to offering a more traditional incentive:
cold, hard cash.
@StephenPunwasi All these "Creative" gifts /incentives just waste time/ resources. Just offer cash incentives. Simple dollars & sense.— sssyap (@sssyap) 1556770356.0
While avocado toast sounds like a fun gimmick, and it's sure to draw attention, the rising prices of real estate largely prevent millennials from purchasing property.
If you really want to draw them in, reduce prices or offer cash bonuses for signing, not snacks.