Sunday Musing: Booth babes? Booth boys!

Gamers have no doubt been ogling over news articles announcing the return of booth babes to this year's E3, accumulating enough drool to fill the Atlantic.

Of course, I have no problem with booth babes, seeing as how they're just working women whose work happens to involve wearing skimpy outfits while performing various duties like handing out flyers, striking poses for creepy photographers, pretending they aren't disgusted by 80 percent of the attendees who approch them, yadda yadda. 

But as video games become more popular as entertainment and recreation, there's no question these conventions will attract more women.  Hell, the exhibitors probably wouldn't mind drawing in the female crowd as yet another exploitable market.

Seriously though, I don't attend conventions to be surrounded by these:

  
You're doing it wrong!

On a more personal level, being approached by a scantily glad young lady is just awkward if you're obviously not the intended target.  Seeing as how most of these fine girls follow a script (an acting gig, more or less), I get a distinct feeling their employers don't tell them how to address people who aren't attracted to them.  No, please don't stoop down to pick up my pen for me, you're skirt is too -- GAH!  Stand up, stand up!  And not to stereotype, but honestly, couldn't they bring in girls with half a brain, at least?  When I see a pretty girl in uniform, I will assume she works at the convention and may ask her questions like, "Is this press conference open to the public as well?" or "Do you have swag for women?"  Being answered with a vacant stare or an uncertain, "Uuuuh...... you mean, like, in pink?" are not exactly the highlight of my convention trips.

Alas, I cannot move mountains and do not expect these gaming companies to completely abandon the practice of using scantily glad women to advertise; however, some consideration for lady attendees would be rather nice!

So how exactly should exhibitors play their cards if they want to appease the fairer sex?  Take a lesson from auto shows and bring in the booth boys.  Hey, I'm serious!  I understand the need to have a li'l eye candy, but the formerly hyper-masculine-Boy's-Only mentality in the gaming community needs to go.  Don't worry, I'm not advocating a bunch of male models in speedos and latex be brought into E3, because that would make me feel seriously uncomfortable too -- unless the companies wouldn't mind shipping female journalists to a separate area, preferrably poolside to be waited on by EA hunks or something.  Perhaps an Altair or Solid Snake cosplayer to keep things fun.

What the gaming industry needs is class, and these shows could really learn a thing or two about class from auto manufacturers.  For one, booth babes can be just as attractive not dressed like hookers (see below).  Secondly, GIVE US MORE HUNKS:

Seriously, how about some consideration?

Fully-clothed yet wonderfully attractive, a completely feasible combination.  As driving.ca explains in a 2007 article, the use of such booth boys at automobile exhibitions is rare in North America and Europe but remains fairly common in Asia.  The top right image depicting two young men dressed in black were "show companions," as the Japanese refer to them, by Audi at the 2007 Tokyo Motor Show to convey a more masculine image.

Male models can even be used to supplement a female "companion," stated a Toyota booth official at the event.  Sure, these hunks usually take a backseat to their female counterparts, dwarfed in terms of exposure and quantity.  But it really isn't a total bust, and some companies do recognize the potential behind booth boys. 

"I've seen women who are obviously taking photos of the male models, not the cars," explained Audi event coordinator Hirofumi Yamane.

To give the video game industry some credit, the booth boys concept isn't totally lost to gaming event organizers.  While game conventions still have a long way to go in terms of male to female model ratios (generously put), cheeky lady attendees can still spot eye candy if they look hard enough.  Case in point, Call of Duty models from E3 2006:

Gotta love men in uniform, especially the one on the left.  And with E3 2009 allegedly returning to its roots, I'm hoping there will be more of those guys again, along with the fabled booth babes.