HardOCP News
[H] News
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Another call to ban booth babes. This time around it is the folks at Time Magazine that feel the time honored practice of using booth babes needs to stop.
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It's Time To Ditch The Booth Babes
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weuntouchable
[H]ard|Gawd
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Never gonna happen. Sex sells.
Eh, they just need to shift the way they do it. Nothing wrong with an attractive women presenting a car or giving the details. Just stick them in a nice business professional outfit instead of hot pants and a sports bra.
Incidentally the last auto show I went to was already doing this. Same hot women you would expect but they were wearing business attire.
Incidentally the last auto show I went to was already doing this. Same hot women you would expect but they were wearing business attire.
CrimsonKnight13
Lord Stabington of [H]ard|Fortress
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How many times has this been complained about already? Some of these "booth babes" are actually intelligent enthusiasts who love being around products that they enjoy using or fantasizing about in the first place. Some of them are just simply clueless though (these are the ones that should go).
I don't believe that utilizing attractive women (or even men) to sell a product is wise marketing but it may help prospective buyers feel more at ease than with someone who might not connect with the customer well (yes, even marketers suck at this). "Booth babes" are closer to social engineering than true marketing. Hijack someone's emotions first & youve' got them throwing money at you (even if the product is shit).
I don't believe that utilizing attractive women (or even men) to sell a product is wise marketing but it may help prospective buyers feel more at ease than with someone who might not connect with the customer well (yes, even marketers suck at this). "Booth babes" are closer to social engineering than true marketing. Hijack someone's emotions first & youve' got them throwing money at you (even if the product is shit).
yeah the Chicago Auto Show was like this the past several years too. I'm ok with that. I'm not there to gawk at women, I'm there to gawk at the cars.
MrCaffeineX
[H]ard|Gawd
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Hey! Highly intelligent people enjoy boobs too! 
I have never understood the issue when people engage in this behavior voluntarily. I get that the adult entertainment industry (pr0n, strippers, prostitution) is not always above board, but that does not mean that every situation where a woman or a man shows off their physique is somehow an abuse. Besides, there is plenty of evidence that this kind of marketing is effective. If I'm going to be subjected to the constant barrage of lung cancer victims and open heart surgery patients in anti-smoking advertising when I'm trying to watch a baseball game, why can't we bring some levity to car advertisements by inserting unnecessary hot bodies into them?
I have never understood the issue when people engage in this behavior voluntarily. I get that the adult entertainment industry (pr0n, strippers, prostitution) is not always above board, but that does not mean that every situation where a woman or a man shows off their physique is somehow an abuse. Besides, there is plenty of evidence that this kind of marketing is effective. If I'm going to be subjected to the constant barrage of lung cancer victims and open heart surgery patients in anti-smoking advertising when I'm trying to watch a baseball game, why can't we bring some levity to car advertisements by inserting unnecessary hot bodies into them?
Youn
Supreme [H]ardness
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The #1 reason women follow sports is to help fantasize about being thrown around in bed with the players.
Unabomber
Supreme [H]ardness
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I see nothing wrong with using booth babes. It's no different than using something else that looks appealing to bring about a positive image of a product.
I dont get it, the women are part of the entertainment. I'd understand if you were hiring models to give a presentation on the large hadron collider, but auto shows are like going to hooters. The women arent expected to do anything other than be eye candy, just like the cars. It's just a fun event to go to.
Armenius
Extremely [H]
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I'm good with this. When I was at the Miami car show last year, Cadillac had this gorgeous brunette in a professional dress selling their cars who, I have to admit, wouldn't have minded driving away in that CTS-V Coupe she was showing me and settling down
.To me, women in business attire are hotter than women in skimp outfits. I was at a trade show for IT, and the women all had to wear semi-business attire. OMG...
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I think Booth Trolls will be the next big thing. Here we are looking at a past un-politically correct version, with the new improved version, that is now acceptable.
Every time some idiot feels the urge to ban something, they should remember this is America and shut their fool mouths.
If auto companies want to stop using booth babes, fine. I don't really care either way, I don't even go to these shows and I don't read the reports from them. But I hate the culture of "we know better, you can't do that anymore!" about shit that really doesn't matter. Having pretty girls standing around is not dumping waste into a river.
If auto companies want to stop using booth babes, fine. I don't really care either way, I don't even go to these shows and I don't read the reports from them. But I hate the culture of "we know better, you can't do that anymore!" about shit that really doesn't matter. Having pretty girls standing around is not dumping waste into a river.
Of course it's not abuse. They're getting paid to do damn near nothing, it's a boon for models. The impetus for this is some puritanical asshole who feels "lecherous" and is comfortable with telling thousands of people what to do instead of getting over it himself.
dgingeri
2[H]4U
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I agree. They take away from the experience and distract from the new technology. It's also insulting to the women, both the "booth babes" and the capable women engineers. I'm overall pretty conservative, (not meaning I'm sexist or racist, but I prefer to keep business as business, and I despise government interference) and I'm pushing for this change. That says something.
sfsuphysics
[H]F Junkie
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Get rid of the Booth Babes, then also get rid of all the pretty actors in those dating site commercials replacement them with the reality of what you're going to get via those websites, then remove any models from selling soda or alcoholic products, a party is not going to be filled with nothing but hot women and good looking guys there are seriously a lack of beer guts in those commercials, then while we're at it we need to recast most every TV show or movie that depicts college ... or hell life in general.
kirbyrj
Fully [H]
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Exactly.
Yakk
Supreme [H]ardness
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Booth babes being an extension of the modeling industry employs thousands & thousands of people globally.
Meh, I don't see it going away without a fight.
Meh, I don't see it going away without a fight.
Except the women are doing it. The biggest paradox of our time is women being angry about men objectifying women, yet women are oh-so-willing to be objects when the money's right. If women, as a whole, gave up on modeling, porn, booth babying, skimp clothes, etc you would see a change in our culture. As long as there's good money in showing off your body, women will continue to sell their bodies.
Not to the Metrosexuals that buy most of the electric/plugin cars......
A booth needs attractions unfortunately. If you go to say Hannover Messe industrial fair, you'll find that you have to provide catering, snacks and all sorts of freebee to make people stop for a few seconds and look at the gears that your company wants to peddle.
Booth babes are just more of this attraction. Honestly, they function well enough as the greeters to the booth, and having them filtering out the visitors from the people that are actually there to talk business helps with the management of the booth imo.
(speaking from my own biased professional standpoint)
Booth babes are just more of this attraction. Honestly, they function well enough as the greeters to the booth, and having them filtering out the visitors from the people that are actually there to talk business helps with the management of the booth imo.
(speaking from my own biased professional standpoint)
You stop insulting EV. A Tesla model S is same price as 5 series Bimmer in Norway, and you get free parking, no levy, free charging in a place where oil prices is about $USD 9.5 a galleon.
Oh wait, you were talking about US of A where electricity is almost too cheap to meter and fuel's cheaper than milk mostly...
Yakk
Supreme [H]ardness
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Good point, been a few years since I last worked on the floor at a trade show and forgot how much people they do filter out.
Said the gayest man of all time, as he sneezed glitter and farted a rainbow.
Funny thing is that women consider it empowering to be slutty, so if you endorse modesty and ask them not to twerk and whore themselves out, you're an oppressive sexist too. But if you recognize that their tits are hanging out when they are, you're objectifying them. I don't care either way, I just find all the hypocrisy hilarious.mecra said:
LOL, I meant the call to ban booth babes, not you Steve. Don't ban me!
MrCaffeineX
[H]ard|Gawd
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This just proves the necessity to hire booth babes. The metrosexual, hybrid/electric car buying population does not represent enough potential sales to keep the product division operating and real American men are not even going to check out these vehicles if there are not attractive women luring them in...
MrCaffeineX
[H]ard|Gawd
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You are actually wrong on both counts, but to be fair I live in New York where you can safely calculate the average cost for common goods or services, then multiply by 1.5 or more simply because you're purchasing said goods or services in New York.
Ur_Mom
Fully [H]
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Well, I guess I'll be a typical male that likes looking at boobies. I like the booth babes. I'm one of those awkward nerds, though. A booth babe holding a really kick ass VR system or something... I'd be checking out the tech and not her... But, booth babes will get me to stop at your booth if it's not anything special.
Sex sells? Nah, but it sure does grab the attention. I think it makes it less formal and more of a fun time (no one has a chance with the booth babes...). Like Comic Con's, it's always a fun time and I enjoy going. Would I enjoy it without all the cool stuff? Yea, but not as much. Take away all that, and it's just a geek computer club showing off their stuff (which is still cool for some of us). Take away the fun and excitement and eye candy, and I'll just go online to read your press release.
If women have any issues with it, it may be time to stop with the firefighter calendars, Thunder Down Under, etc.. Men need to wear suits & ties, women need to wear long skirts and button up blouses. Time to go back to the 40's and 50's.
Sex sells? Nah, but it sure does grab the attention. I think it makes it less formal and more of a fun time (no one has a chance with the booth babes...). Like Comic Con's, it's always a fun time and I enjoy going. Would I enjoy it without all the cool stuff? Yea, but not as much. Take away all that, and it's just a geek computer club showing off their stuff (which is still cool for some of us). Take away the fun and excitement and eye candy, and I'll just go online to read your press release.
If women have any issues with it, it may be time to stop with the firefighter calendars, Thunder Down Under, etc.. Men need to wear suits & ties, women need to wear long skirts and button up blouses. Time to go back to the 40's and 50's.
dgingeri
2[H]4U
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Some women do it, yes. Some women play on their sexual attractiveness. That's their choice. It's not a money thing, though. Those women crave attention, and this is how they get it. Many men are weak this way, and are easy and willing targets. That's just being human. To disregard it is to disregard being human.
However, the booth babes are a practice that doesn't attract everyone, and distracts from the main purpose of the show. It is simply not needed, and in many cases not wanted. I know of many very capable women engineers who are insulted by the practice, and I believe they feel intimidated by them.
They're probably just as intimidated as I feel when standing in a group of 6'+ suited executives or a bunch of professional football players. It's not logical, but it is still there. I'm better at tech project planning and building IT resources and infrastructure than most executives would ever be. I believe I'm of more value to the company than most executives, but the physical attractiveness aspect is deep down and difficult to placate no matter my technical or professional prowess and confidence.
Women also have another level to deal with. While many women are quite attractive, they choose a more professional appearance for professional reasons, and then have to deal with these booth babes dressing so blatantly showy and sexually. (It's kind of like the suits on male executives. We know women like that look, and many men just don't look as good in them. They're also incredibly uncomfortable and difficult to work in. Sometimes I think many executives mandate wearing them for their staff just so they can show how much more physically attractive they are and impose their sense of dominance. It certainly has nothing to do with their capability as an executive.) I can certainly see that women would be uncomfortable about that. I'd rather not inflict that on someone else.
The booth babes know that their entire purpose for being there is not because of their personality or knowledge, but because they have tits, so be friendly but for the love of all that is holy if she's offering pics and what not DO NOT HOVERHAND!
No need to grope and be a jerk, but get up in there and enjoy the eye candy.
dgingeri
2[H]4U
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I live in a suburb of Denver, CO. I went grocery shopping on Saturday and filled up my car this morning. A gallon of milk is running $3.89 right now, and gas, as of this morning, is $3.52/gallon. My electricity bill for last month, paid on Saturday, was a mere $62.
Yes, electricity is cheap here and milk is more expensive than gas, as is the case in many parts of the country.
However, I track my electricity usage. I live in Denver until September, and moved partly because of the electricity costs. Denver has a city ordinance that allows Excel to double the rate at a certain level of usage, and triple it at another level, for residential customers, supposedly in an effort to get people to conserve. The lower limit is barely enough to run a fridge and a single 60W light bulb, and using A/C at all will put one above the triple rate limit. You can probably see how that affects computer gamers. My usage was within 3% between March 2014 and March 2013. My bill here, from IREA, was merely $62, while it was $198 in Denver from Excel Energy. My summer electricity bill reached above the $400 mark rather frequently. So, electricity can go from really cheap to really expensive based entirely on government interference.
Women do it because it makes everything easier including the job and getting promotions.
Girls/Women are bigger whores in terms of using their looks if they have them, then ever. You've come a long way baby.
Women need to look at themselves instead of having corporations police their own kind for them. But that's typical of women. We have no self-control or self-respect. And its your fault for letting us act out on it.
The booth babes know that their entire purpose for being there is not because of their personality or knowledge, but because they have tits, so be friendly but for the love of all that is holy if she's offering pics and what not DO NOT HOVERHAND!
No need to grope and be a jerk, but get up in there and enjoy the eye candy.
That's an important half of it. I will give you one example of booth babes with regards to purpose to talk about the other half.
This year in Hannover Messe, you see Russian booth babes over "Moscow City" pavilion that's showcasing Moscow as a hip, modern and high-tech place and not some wild wild west that sells only energy. Those booth babes were front and center as the very image of the pavilion (their faces were on the posters, for pete's sake).
They got boobs n faces, but it's more than that. They were there to show the flag against the other exhibitors, who were mostly established suits from huge German industrial corps such as Siemens. There girls gave their curt smiles, waved for the camera, enjoyed the glamor while taking in name cards, with the Russian representatives grinning from ear to ear as they "show the flag" in the midst of all the German industrial giants and against UAE booth (suits, very corporate professional display)
The booth babes are loud displays in image projection. It's one thing to run into those babes that aren't tasked with that weight, but a whole other deal when they walk the walk and talk the talk.