Slashdot Mirror
Company Takes Stand Against Booth Babes
Swank1 writes "At this year's E3 (May 17-20) Agetec will launch its Anti Booth Babe campaign. Believing that booth babes take attention away from the games, Agetec wants to change the focus back to where it should be. They plan on doing this not by refusing to have booth babes, but instead by hiring ten unattractive women to work their booth. Agetec, a producer of video games and hardware for console systems, has launched AntiBoothBabes.com to get their idea going. Right now the site is just a splash page and a sign-up form for a free T-shirt, but the real fun will come at the Expo. In Los Angeles, during the convention, Agetec's anti-babes will be handing out 'Granny Panties' with Agetec's logo on it. An article discribes the initiative at XYZ Computing."
I feel sorry for the people who have do the hiring, and those who will be hired to do it. First, having to decide if someone is really that ugly, and, being told that you are ugly enough to do it. People these days are so superficial...
I notice how it's still women that they are hiring. If they really wanted to make a statement, they'd have a mixture of men and women.
But I suspect this is just a "look at us, we're controversial!" publicity stunt. And hey, they got a Slashdot story, so it's working.
We want to put the attention on the games so we created this attention grabbing gimmick to do so.
Who cares if, for a few trade shows, male (and possibly some female gamers I guess) oggle boobies?
No sig for you!!
If they did that they would not be getting all this free pr. This is nothing more than a stunt to get free PR.
Kind of like what goldenpalace.com does.
Employing booth babes is a classic marketing strategy used to draw attention to your booth.
This news isn't about sticking up for women or not treating them as objects, it's just a twist on the strategy. They're in fact still treating women as objects to further their own advancement. How is this any better?
Their claim of "putting the focus back on the games" is bullshit. If that were the case, they would have just not hired "ugly women" (their quote, not mine) and not made mention of their anti-booth-babes stance.
All this is is a press stunt to get some extra attention apart from all the other vendors using booth babes.
-David
It amazes me how bad technical people are at marketing. They apparently didn't see the possibility that their idea could be bad for the company.
This is stupid I can't believe that slashdot posted it, this attention grab is more insulting and hurtful to women than booth babes are.
Just don't post dumb stories like this.
---
I support spreading santorum
Booth "KnowSomethingAboutTheProduct"s?
I mean it. What I would love to see at an expo is someone at the booth that I can talk to about the product at hand. Sure, its nice to have beautiful women standing around, but it isnt going to make me any more likely to buy the company's product.
There is a basic flaw in their reasoning, which is to assume that everybody likes the "booth babe" type. Here's a hint: some guys like mature women, some guys like full women. Some guys even like guys, from androgynous boyish looks to furry bears. And some of the audience is women, straight women even, who would be physically more attracted by any male booth staff (although might still generally prefer chatting with female booth staff).
Hire people for personality, not looks, and you'll do well. And most people with the right personality for customer contacts will also know how to dress appropriately for the event and their body type. Of course, if you force everybody into some ridiculous booth outfit (skin tight pink T-shirts, etc.), then many people will look bad.
...so they couldn't just hire women, could they? They have to divide us up into "dumb but hot" or "smart but ugly".
This is why I'll always have negative opinions about the gaming industry - it makes me feel completely worthless.
"Real Games. Real People?"
So what's more offensive? Being paying to stand around to be gawked by geeks because of your better-than-average-good-looks or being told by a website your not a "real person."
That said, I really don't see what the problem is. These women are getting paid to dress up in some costume, look hot, and maybe poss with people or pass out promotional material. They are there on their own volition. They aren't being any more exploited than a game designer is being exploited for his creativity. Modeling is just like any other job that requires a certain amount of inate ability. It just so happens that this ability is to look attractive. So to summarize, if these women are being exploited then so is everyone else that voluntarily goes into a career field that needs their abilities.
-Shawn "If the Name Don't Rhyme It Ain't Mine" Conn
I think you didn't read the grandparent comment: "I feel sorry for the people who have do the hiring, and those who will be hired to do it. First, having to decide if someone is really that ugly, and, being told that you are ugly enough to do it."
Maybe it will work as you say. But that was not the point of my comment. The point was that I can think of many directions the company's idea can take that will be bad for the company.
For example, maybe people will walk by the booth to see the company's idea of ugly, and then be embarrassed to talk with anyone in the booth.
The point is not whether the company will become better known. The point is whether people will be motivated to buy. Another point is whether there will be any major problems with the marketing. For example, will people call the company and ask the receptionist if she is ugly?
Some people don't think about what happens beneath the social surface.
The game sucks. If they need to do a stupid marketing stunt like this, clearly the game is lacking. Plus, they aren't addressing the problem, they're simply puting a few booth babes out of work for the week.
Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on your perspective) booth babes work for drawing attention.
I attend a +lot+ of geeky trade shows for the geospatial industry, and believe me, there's nothing geekier than a bunch of guys talking about photogrammetry and remote sensing while wearing their birkenstocks and socks. When one of the companies decides to bring in a booth babe or two, they are the talk of the show. We're kind of an ugly industry.
At any rate, they work. Booth babes draw people into the booth; I can't comment on how well they do with bringing in qualified leads, but they definitely generate traffic. I have to admit, it's a nice change of pace to see a woman who actually looks like a woman at some of these shows, but there is always that twinge of guilt.
It's "no one," not "noone." Who the hell is noone anyway?
Ford's commercial for the Mercury version of the 500 has a chick in a tight shirt, tight capri pants, and sexy little shoes jumping around the car talking about how great it is. And a little birdie told me she wasn't hired for her detailed knowledge of her automobile enthusiasm. Same with vacations and cruises, McDonald's salads, investment banks, cable news, clothing department stores, etc. Sex sells. And it's not just women. Men are used to sell romance novels, "romantic comedy" films (chick flicks), country music, etc.
I think it's time we grew up and just recognized that sex is a part of our lives, a part we like, and stop trying to live like Puritans. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go play Wolfenstein with the Elite Guard, read FHM, and stop by an auto show to pick up some flyers from the competent ladies at the Yugo booth.
jX [ Make everything as simple as possible, but no simpler. - Einstein ]
With a tag line like, "Anti Booth Babes. real People, real Games." It is clear to us that the PR staff at reverbinc.com are either militant feminazis or homosexuals.
Ah, lemme think on that one...how about knowing something about the product they're pitching at you?
The booth babes don't do any of the pitching.
In fact, I'd actually like to know how they get away with this in the first place. Hiring someone with no relevant jobs skills, and no knowledge of the product based on how they look IS discrimination.
Sure it is, but discrimination isn't illegal unless you're discriminating based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.
Uh, no. Say I apply for a job at NASA, and they reject my application because I have no education in or of rocket science. Is that discrimination?
Of course it is. You're discriminating against people with no eduction in or of rocket science. You don't seem to know what discrimination means. What do you think it means?