Company Takes Stand Against Booth Babes 110
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."
Gosh... (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Gosh... (Score:2, Interesting)
Br sigh, i guess ill be getting more game information from mtv than current g
Re:Gosh... (Score:5, Insightful)
Let's not forget that this is very likely a marketing ploy. Just think, a company that normally might not get much if any coverage or press, suddenly is the centre of attention due to their, and let's call this what it is, their marketing campaign.
Oh, let's not forget that they're being particularly demeaning to women by hiring them on the sole basis of how ugly they are. What a wonderful boost of self-confidence for these women.
"Congradulations! You are one of the ten ugliest people out of the thousands that applied!"
Re:Gosh... (Score:1)
> Oh, let's not forget that they're being
> particularly demeaning to women by hiring
> them on the sole basis of how ugly they are.
Really? Did you make that up, or did you read it somewhere?
I read the article linked in the news item, and also went to the antiboothbabe site - no mention of what you claim.
I suggest that you are being demeaning to our intelligence by making unfounded assumptions.
RJK.
Re:Gosh... (Score:2)
It would appear Slashdot made a factual error. Take it out on them, not me.
Re:Gosh... (Score:1, Offtopic)
a modeling/acting school.
He was interested in my friend (who looks very young for his age), suggesting roles as bullys and etc. (my friend used to headbutt boulders and such, and currently resides in a mental institution.)
and don't forget 'Bitter Beer Face'.
Marketing IQ: Maybe 70. (Score:3, Insightful)
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.
Re:Marketing IQ: Maybe 70. (Score:2)
if they had just some bimbos like everyone else.. no fuckign anybody would know of them - I didn't know their brand before this anyways, and now I DO. so.. not so bad marketing.
Read the grandparent comment: (Score:3, Insightful)
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
Re:Gosh... (Score:1)
Personally, I couldn't care less about booth babes. If I want to see hot chicks, I can go to a strip club (well, I wouldn't - but I could). Or I could just surf the internet. Trust me, an uninteractive photo of a hot chick is just as interesting, engag
Re:Gosh... (Score:1)
s/pointy/sharp/
Re:Gosh... (Score:1)
> First, having to decide if someone is really
> that ugly [snip]
> People these days are so superficial...
Superficial? The article quoted made no mention of hiring ugly women. Furthermore, the antiboothbabe site indicates that it will be hairy men with blonde wigs who will make up the complement of 'antiboothbabes'.
You barely looked past the surface of the news item (apparently never even investigating the links provided) before sharing your 'insightful' comments.
I suggest that it is yo
Degrading. (Score:3, Funny)
This is crap. And by saying things like this, I can hopefully score some points with these "ugly" ladies. I'm desperate. And lonely. Somebody call me? Please?
Re:Degrading. (Score:2, Funny)
Re:Degrading. (Score:2)
I, too, fell out of the ugly tree and hit every branch on the way down.
Re:Degrading. (Score:1)
Re:Degrading. (Score:1)
Re:Degrading. (Score:1)
Advice: don't go for "ugly". Go for chubby. They can be both pretty and chubby. Usually those are lonely too and have lower self esteem. (At least low enough to talk to you *grin*) If you're lucky, you get one of those and she starts actually to lose weight. (I have one of those specimens myself, yay for me!)
Re:Degrading. (Score:1)
(P.S: My girlfriend doesn't read slashdot... )
Re:Degrading. (Score:1)
Re:Degrading. (Score:1)
Re:Dumb as shit. (Score:3, Insightful)
Kind of like what goldenpalace.com does.
Your premise is wrong. (Score:3, Funny)
I rest my case.
Still women... (Score:5, Insightful)
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.
Re:Still women... (Score:2)
Re:Still women... (Score:2)
They already hire men. Thay are called marketing droids. They have nice hair and white teeth and they go to the gym a few times a week.
Re:Still women... (Score:1)
If anything, this might boost the self-esteem of said "ugly chicks", considering that a lot of geeks are befuddled when _any_ female talks to them.
Being paid the highest complement (Score:4, Funny)
And I'm sure those ten women were flattered when they said, "We want to hire you because you're ugly."
Re:Being paid the highest complement (Score:2)
For the first time in over 100 years ugly women now have a proponent other bad lighting and beer!
>
One gimmick for another? (Score:4, Insightful)
Who cares if, for a few trade shows, male (and possibly some female gamers I guess) oggle boobies?
Re:One gimmick for another? (Score:2)
Look, for the last time, the word is "oogle", not "oggle". I seem to be alone in correcting this, even dictionaries disagree with me.
Do you remember Barney Google with the goo-goo googly eyes? Probably not.
"oggle" or "ogle" sounds too much like "ogre" or "goggle" and that's just not right when it comes to lookin
Hey, look, bouncing boobies! [drool]
Re:One gimmick for another? (Score:2)
Should be your first hint...
Re:One gimmick for another? (Score:1)
It's O-G-L-E.
http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=ogle [reference.com]
Wtf? (Score:1, Interesting)
Re:Wtf? (Score:1)
Re:Wtf? (Score:1)
Re:Wtf? (Score:2)
That's not only an insult, it's also discrimination. How about just hiring people who are qualified for the job?
Wouldn't that be discrimination?
Re:Wtf? (Score:3, Insightful)
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 j
Re:Gotta love those loopholes (Score:1)
So discrimination based on how someone looks isn't discrimination because it's not in the laws?
No, it is discrimination, it's just not illegal or wrong.
My bad, I'm thinking spirit, not letter of the law.
There's nothing in the spirit of any law I can think of which would imply that it should be illegal to discriminate against ugly people, especially when hiring them for something where they need to be good looking in order to perform their job well. Like I said, that would be like discriminating aga
Just another Marketing Ploy (Score:5, Insightful)
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.
Re:Just another Marketing Ploy (Score:1, Interesting)
Actually, that's XYZ Computing's quote, not Agetec's quote. I can't find anything about what they're planning on Agetec's site.
In fact, they look like a practically dead company if you look at their press releases on their site. Over the past YEAR they've released ONE press release.
Trying Google News found this article. Not very helpful.
My guess is that they aren't looking for "ugly" women, but in fact old women (based on the "granny
stupid (Score:5, Insightful)
Just don't post dumb stories like this.
Re:stupid (Score:2)
That actually made me feel sick for a minute reading it too. Made me think of those makeover shows where they take "totally horrible woman" and make them over (because those women obviously had no redeeming qualities whatsoever... I mean *look* at them! ... (sarcasm was here.)... shivers... and to think I usually skoff a bit when people get upset about game characters being over-buxom. I mean sure its a poor image of women or whatever, but it sells the games and hey ... j
How about... (Score:3, Insightful)
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.
But it will (Score:2)
When there are a few booth babes hanging out in a booth you slow down and look. In effort to make it appear that you are not ogling the babes you look at the literature and demos. Now you know something and have invested time, so you are more likely to buy.
This might not apply to you personally, but it applies to most guys. That is all they care about.
I agree. They make girls look stupid (Score:3, Interesting)
World, the time has come to stop using girls to attract attention!
err... (Score:1)
Exactly, why have booth babes in Norway.,, (Score:2)
Re:I agree. They make girls look stupid (Score:3, Insightful)
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
Kind of cruel... (Score:3, Funny)
Won't someone think of the booth babes? (Score:5, Funny)
Well, I will. I know it's a huge sacrifice, but dammit, someone's gotta step up to the plate here. If there are any former booth babes out there who need someone to talk to, or a shoulder to cry on, or a bed to sleep in, I'm completely available.
That is, I will be - as soon as my wife reads this post. :-/
Re:Won't someone think of the booth babes? (Score:2, Funny)
better idea (Score:2, Interesting)
If car shows didnt have reps who knew their shit, the company they worked for would be pumled by angry consumers, consumers who refused to purchase that product due to poor representation. Same should be done here.
basic flaw (Score:5, Insightful)
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.
Re:basic flaw (Score:2)
If you want to make a statement, hire g33ks (Score:4, Interesting)
Instead of beign an "anti" movement, they ought to be "for" something that is lacked by placing an emphasis on appearance. Otherwise, it's just a publicity stunt...like booth babes.
Wow... (Score:2, Insightful)
This is why I'll always have negative opinions about the gaming industry - it makes me feel completely worthless.
Re:Wow... (Score:2)
Aww, but you got your +4, Insightful, so now you must feel worthy again.
Give me a break. For one thing, I don't see "dumb" or "smart" anywhere in the story, that's your own prejudice coming out. And why did you say they should hire women, not people? In fact, the job of the "booth babe" could probably be eliminated completely, if not the entire Expo. The whole thing is just a marketing scheme. Don't take it so seriously.
In case IHBT, good job, you win.
Re:Wow... (Score:1)
How do mod points constitute winning? I win when women stop being treated like pieces of meat by the gaming industry. And that won't be any time soon.
I specified women, because the article was about women, not men. Show me an article about the way men are mistreated and used and ignored by the gaming industry...and oh. Wait. There aren't any, are there. Because it doesn't happen.
Re:Wow... (Score:2)
How do mod points constitute winning?
Just a guess by your comments of feeling worthless. So why do you feel worthless, exactly?
I win when women stop being treated like pieces of meat by the gaming industry.
How does that make you win?
I specified women, because the article was about women, not men. Show me an article about the way men are mistreated and used and ignored by the gaming industry...
First you show me an article about the way women are mistreated and used and ignored by the gaming indus
Re:Wow... (Score:1)
> I win when women stop being treated like pieces
> of meat by the gaming industry.
Are you talking about the portrayal of women in video games? The unrealistic proportions of Lara Croft? You can certainly make a case of it.
But think about the portrayal of men. Seriously, think about it.
It is, by now, common knowledge that the key to modern advertising is creating a feeling of deficit in the target audience, i.e. to make them feel bad about themselves so as to create a need for the pr
/.'ers and Women (Score:2)
Most of us can't get so much as a date with women who are "dumb but hot" OR "smart but ugly" (due to coming across as "weird and creepy").
Women who are "hot AND smart" arn't considered by the community because they are clearly out of our league, which is perhaps why that category come up very often (except for those of us with an excessive amount of hubris, or for those with an excessive bank balance).
I rather suspect that members of the
Re:/.'ers and Women (Score:2)
OT: Moderation (Score:2)
Re:Wow... (Score:1)
ABB Slogin (Score:3, Insightful)
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.
Re:ABB Slogin (Score:2)
Putting on my cynical business guy hat, this is reacting to a rather uncreative idea with a demeaning and stupid one. If I needed to do something to attract the attention of mostly male geeks, I'd hire young female geeks and gamers instead of professional models. Of course it would help if they were attactive, but that's true for rverybody in sales and marketing. What's more interesting, a mega babe you can gawk at or a cute girl you can
Re:ABB Slogin (Score:2)
That said, I really don't see what the problem is.
Well, according to the story, the problem is not that women are being exploited, but that "booth babes take attention away from the games". Having never been to an expo I'm not sure if I agree or not, but I can see the theory - people go around saying "wow, look at that booth babe" instead of "wow, look at those graphics".
Profit? (Score:2)
1. Fire your booth babes.
2. Hire ugly people as replacements
3.
4. No Profit!!!
So the logical conclusion is... (Score:2, Insightful)
Apologies to Chris (Score:2, Interesting)
However, last time I heard, she was doing web-design, so she may not have the time to become the stereotype breaking - Hot but Game Guru Girl....
R.
Pathetic. (Score:4, Insightful)
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.
Our booth... (Score:2)
Re:Our booth... (Score:2)
Hmmmm! (Score:2, Insightful)
To be politically correct... (Score:2)
Blind Interviews (Score:2)
Some will be pretty, even so! Most will be ordinary, and some may be ugly, but at least you can say with a clear conscience that you hired the best ones for the job.
I'm not really sure that this is the intent of booth attendees. Let's face it, the
We'll know they're serious... (Score:2)
read the article - NOT UGLY (Score:1)
It does NOT say they are hiring women specifically because they are unattractive. Whether or not they are attractive just isn't the issue.
I think many, many commenters missed that part, including the original editor who posted the story.
Word. (Score:2)
high staminia from exessive masturbation. (Score:1)