
The 'booth babes' of CES - songzme
http://venturebeat.com/2014/01/08/meet-the-booth-babes-of-ces-and-read-what-they-really-think-about-attendees/
======
kaoD
First: _" They don’t approach except to shyly ask for a photo."_

Then: _" The younger ones in previous years used to ask for my number a lot.”_

The article is pretty much void of content, just a couple of booth babes
giving personal (and contradictory) anecdotes.

~~~
runjake
This isn't contradictory at all. What they mean is that they would like to be
engaged as people with their own thoughts, ideas, and opinions -- not hit or
creeped on.

I know that the irony there is that they are marketed and dressed in a manner
to appeal to the male sexual mind, but I'd like to think we've evolved beyond
that (chuckles heard in the audience).

"Tell me more about what you're doing/this product." seems like a good start.

~~~
chillingeffect
> they would like to be engaged as people

Actually, that's a creative embellishment you've contributed. The quotes from
the models do not support your inference. They merely portray the actions of
the men, not the preferences of the models.

The writer labels it a "pretty common complaint," but the sentence “And then
you get the creepers who like to take photos without asking” could be equally
taken to be backdoor bragging. Plenty of women describe encounters from
strangers in order to brag about their attractiveness. (See the movie American
Beauty, for example).

Plenty of women appreciate the attention of men. In fact, later on, one of the
models says, "I love my techies."

Downvote me if you want - this is a throwaway - but if you ever want to
understand women, you'll re-read my words until you understand them.

~~~
oinksoft
A hollow understanding; both men and women are given to vanity and bragging.

~~~
omonra
The men who can make money by standing around and attracting women to approach
the booth are probably equally vain.

------
lancewiggs
We hired 2 models as greeters at a entertainment park owned by a PE firm I
interned at in Dallas. The woman was so beautiful that I couldn't have a
normal conversation with her for quite some time. The guy was as good looking,
and it just felt natural to chat to him in a very relaxed way. So I trusted
him and was intimidated by her. I was on site most days and realized what was
happening, and tried to change my behavior. It was surprisingly difficult even
when I knew what was going on.

So the question is - why not hire male models to pitch wares? And the
challenge is to be aware of the effect of beauty and to change our behavior.

~~~
CaveTech
You're intimidated to talk to her, but she definitely catches your attention.
Booth babes are eye candy. If people interact with them, better, but I'm sure
the company won't mind if people want to hangout around the booth just because
of the beautiful girls. There's people other than booth babes who can pitch
and sell products.

------
Crito
_" “You kind of wonder where you’re picture’s going to end up,” she says"_

I wonder the same. What are the 'legitimate' points of taking pictures of or
with these women? So that you can offer photographic proof to your friends
back home that you have indeed once been near a woman?

Then again, I don't understand the point of tourists taking pictures of
national monuments, so maybe I'm just missing the core concept of pictures...

~~~
TrainedMonkey
I got a counter question? What legitimate point of putting hot girls anywhere
near technology conference? Those booth models are there specifically to draw
attention to themselves and the product they represent. Sex sells.

~~~
Crito
Legitimate was the wrong word for me to use, I'm getting at the difference
between "actual" and "excuse".

"Sex sells" is the "point", legitimate or not. For better or worse, "sex
sells" seems to currently be accepted by society. Nobody really makes an
excuse for it.

I'm wondering what _excuse_ for taking pictures with them is, since presumably
_" so I can jack it later"_ is not a socially acceptable reason. That reason,
while I suspect it is the _actual_ reason, is left unstated so that both
parties can pretend there is another reason.

------
chippy
I have never been to a conference with "booth babes" but this question I have
also asked:

"If CES attendees feel intimidated by a booth spokesperson, why is that
spokesperson chosen to do the job? Why not let the models dress down, adopt
girl-next door makeup, and proactively demo the products instead of standing
around in heels waiting for the next photo opp?"

~~~
Retric
Booth babes are not there for the attendees there there for the free publicity
outside the event as their picture is posted on various websites etc.

~~~
JasonFruit
I'll grant that for the sake of argument, but does that kind of publicity do
any good for the event or the people presenting their products there?

~~~
__pThrow
The companies know sex sells. The photographers from the media know sex sells.
The media publishing the photographer know sex sells.

Science knows that sex sells.
[http://www.popsci.com/scitech/article/2008-04/sex-sells-
what...](http://www.popsci.com/scitech/article/2008-04/sex-sells-what-price)

So yes, my guess is the booth babes help raise product awareness, product
exposure, and desire for the product.

------
__pThrow
from the article:

> During my show-floor travels, I confirmed my hypothesis that the so-called
> “booth babes” are worthy of so much more than objectification. But these
> women surprised me with some of their insights, namely that sexualizing them
> is bad for business.

> A nameless, hot object is something you want to look at. But to get to know
> the person and the product she represents, you have to see her as a person.

I don't get it. Are we dating?

A company hires a woman to put on a bikini and in a conference hall where
everyone else is dressed casually, this woman walks around dressed to go
swimming.

And yet, the woman doing this complains how she is being victimized by the
evil men who objectify her during their 120 seconds with her.

Somehow the company shouldn't hire her to walk around in her bikini and the
male attendees shouldn't objectify her and that their awkward behavior around
her signifies much more than that she is dressed in a bikini in a conference
hall where everyone else is dressed casual or in a suit and tie.

News flash: she is objectifying herself.

~~~
sliverstorm
_I don 't get it. Are we dating?_

No, the author is just suggesting that to most effectively pitch the
person/product they represent, reps need to be approachable. After all, isn't
"build rapport" step one of sales? Now, whether the models are there to pitch
anything in the first place is a different question.

 _And yet, the woman doing this complains how she is being victimized by the
evil men who objectify her during their 120 seconds with her._

Doesn't read like that to me. The only one pushing any kind of agenda in the
article is the _author_ , who is not a booth babe.

~~~
leephillips
The author is not embarrassed about pushing an agenda, either:

'Would she classify them as desperate nerds? She laughs a bit nervously. "I
guess so."'

So we're getting the author's words coming back out of the models' mouths.
This is of limited interest.

------
inuhj
In the past I had 4 very attractive female employees. I hired one...and then
she brought her friends around and one-by-one I ended up hiring them. At trade
shows(and expos) the customers assumed they were 'booth babes' and not our
actual employees. It was frustrating to say the least.

------
lquist
Source: My girlfriend does promo modelling from time to time.

Here are a few things that I found interesting:

* Bikini modelling (perhaps obviously) pays the most. Numbers are in the $50-75/hour range.

* For non-bikini modelling, liquor gigs pay the most. About $35/hour. Non-liquor gigs are roughly $20-25/hour.

* A lot of girls do this full-time.

------
chillingeffect
> One has to wonder: If CES attendees feel intimidated by a booth
> spokesperson, why is that spokesperson chosen to do the job? Why not let the
> models dress down, adopt girl-next door makeup, and actively demo the
> products instead of standing around in heels waiting for the next photo opp?

publicity != information. /thread

> their insights, namely that sexualizing them is bad for business.

Hmmm. Any chance their insights are .... wrong? What's my evidence? I dunno,
models make $50-75/hour while the CEO of the company who hires them makes
millions a year?

Actually, I suspect the author is putting her words into the models' mouths.
Did the models really say they thought sexualization was bad for business?
They said the men were shy and didn't approach them, but linking that to bad
business practice requires several more conceptual leaps.

Just another woman-judges-women story.

------
Shillbilly
Why is this a story every year at every conference on earth? Yes, they're
women, and they're placed to attract less-than-intelligent customers, who
happen to be the target audience of almost every advertising effort on earth.

Where's the story?

~~~
raldi
The story is "Articles about booth babes get a lot of clicks"

