The end of "Booth Babes"?
Scantily clad booth babes at tech trade shows get wardrobe check
Excerpt:
Anyone who's been to a technology trade show is probably familiar with the so-called booth babes -- attractive women, wearing as little as possible, hired to tout tech products. Some don bikinis, short-shorts or minidresses; others come dressed in tight leather outfits or costumes, a la Catwoman, Xena the warrior princess, and Star Wars' Princess Leia in a gold bikini. In one notable case, the exhibitors had their booth babes dressed in paint and little else. Booth babes are the Vanna Whites of the technology world, meant to reel in bedazzled male onlookers and then show off a company's products. But they've also been the subject of debate, with many critics saying it's demeaning for companies to treat women as sexualized props. A few associations are now looking to end the practice of provocative clothing at tech trade shows. RSA Conference, which hosts the world's largest security conference, announced last week it's banning scantily clad dress at its five-day trade show in San Francisco next month.Comment: Image snap from here. I tried to find the most modest of booth babes (and had to go back about 50 years!) If anyone has been to a car show he knows "the problem": too much skin!
Model’s Lament: Covering Up China’s Car Show:
ReplyDeleteIn January, organizers of the Shanghai International Automobile Industry Exhibition told car makers that using models to promote cars would no longer be tolerated.
“We want visitors to focus on cars, rather than models,” said a director at the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, a major organizer of the motor show said at the time. He cited a barrage of criticism from state media that lashed out at auto makers for employing models with figure-hugging outfits and come-hither looks.