While the Polar Bear TV and the HP tablet are pulling interest at the CES, the other point of interest for the predominantly male attendees of the CES event were the “booth babes,” also known as “promotional models.” Gizmodo recently had an editorial piece that uncovered the Booth Babe Confessions. This article sheds favorable and sympathetic light on these “Booth Babes,” whose primary job is to “person hired to drive consumer demand for a product, service, brand, or concept by directly interacting with potential consumers. A promotional model can be female or male, and typically is intended to be attractive in physical appearance. They serve to provide information about the product or service and make it appealing to consumers. While the length of interaction may be short, the promotional model delivers a live experience that reflects on the product or service he or she is representing” (via Wiki).
This Wikipedia definition provides a politically correct definition, but some of the CES booth babes seem to have different requirements. Even though some of these promotional models were showcasing and using products for these attendees at the CES, their physical appearance was also used as a tool to leverage male weakness. Gizmodo records a short video interviewing women who have had inappropriate experiences with some of the CES attendees, but I questioned how much sympathy I had for these women. These men should not have treated these women so objectively, but when these women are clearly using certain assets to lure these men to their booths, and then complain about how they are treated when they are wearing string bikinis, I have a difficult time sympathizing. Look here at this Ed Hardy promotional model:
[image via ThinkComputers]
Even though some could find this Ed Hardy design for the iPhone to be appealing, viewers are clearly distracted by the woman holding this enlarged iPhone case since all of the other attendees are probably wearing high-waisted pants and button ups. I can understand that these women might be insulted and offended by the drooling and ogling looks they receive, but in all honesty, they signed up for this gig. It is similar to women at Hooters who complain about their treatment from their customers…seriously, you work at Hooters. Some of the men may enjoy the hot wings, but the restaurant is not called “Let-Me-Look-At-Your-Face-And-Get-To-Know-You Restaurant” for a reason.
So, before I go on an Ann Coulter preach regarding women having respect for their bodies, I think that these booth babes should understand that they are stepping into the techies den. While I wish that I could have attended CES to see gadgets like the Light Touch, a “holographic laser-projection technology to beam a 10in virtual touch-screen on to any surface. Infrared sensors detect the finger taps of the user, and allows them to type words, or open and close programs and applications” (via Telegraph), or the Parrot AR.Drone, which is “an electronic aircraft, has multiple cameras (two to be exact), uses WiFi for control (via an ad-hoc connection), and likely has more intelligence on board than a lunar lander. This early version can only be controlled via iPhone, or iPod touch, but Parrot’s Henri Seydoux mentioned that it could be [...] controllable by BlackBerry, Windows Mobile, and so on” (via Engadget), other attendees are going for some other perks.
