You don’t see them as much at E3 these days, but events like the Tokyo Game Show or Germany’s GamesCom are full of young women (and sometimes men!) wearing very little clothing while trying to sell you video games.
It may excite young male readers/visitors, but for the most part, it’s an awkward and occasionally uncomfortable practice. One that TidBITS writer Glenn Fleishman approaches well, in a piece that argues it reflects poorly on the companies resorting to the tactic, not the show or those lured by a bit of flesh.
My complaint isn’t that attractive people are trying to get me to pay attention to their products. Rather, my point is that companies that rely on models whose various assets are stress-testing spandex or exposed to air are trying so hard that they fail. Not all attention is good, since it highlights to women attending the show that these products are not for them, as well as driving off men who find being so blatantly manipulated distasteful.
It’s the last part that rings true for me. If I see a game or keyboard or headset or whatever at a show and it’s being hawked by a young lady in a jumpsuit, I’m inclined to disregard said product. Why? Because if the product was any good, it could sell itself, sell me on what it does or at least how it looks, not how the person selling it looks.
Booth Babes: iCandy or iScream? [TidBITS, via Boing Boing]
Leave a Reply