Product Code Database
A promotional model is a model hired to drive demand for a product, service, brand, or concept by directly interacting with potential customers. Most promotional models are conventionally attractive in physical appearance. They serve to make a product or service more appealing, and can provide information to journalists and consumers at trade shows and convention events. Promotional models are used in motorsports, other sports (such as dart competitions) or at trade shows, or they can act as "spokesmodels" to promote a specific brand or product in .
The models, referred as grid girls or pit/paddock girls in Europe, are very common in many series worldwide. In the United States, they are referred to as umbrella girls. Because of the manner of dress of these models, insurance companies regard the models as a safety hazard because of stringent dress codes imposed in the garage and pit areas by many sanctioning bodies; in New Jersey, the stringent dress codes effectively ban the models. In DTM and some other events, organizers have started to recruit male models as in startlines, mostly on female drivers' cars. The Korean term for a race queen is a racing model (레이싱모델). Racing models appear in motor shows and racing events.
In Japan, there is a phenomenon of race queens (レースクイーン) being often regarded as "Japanese idol". The average age for these girls is late teens to early twenties and demand for them wanes with age. It is not unusual for some of them to have a background in or a sideline career as a gravure idol. Race queens who operate in prestigious events and with a large fanbase can also be found at auto shows purely to draw crowds where they are nearly as important an attraction as the cars or electronics products that they are promoting. There is a magazine dedicated to them called Gals Paradise.
During the race queen bubble of the late 1980s to late 1990s, a top race queen in Japan could earn 500,000 yen over two days or at least 200,000 yen. In 1993, that salary was 100,000 yen. After the boom era, the market price of race queens fell to 20,000 to 30,000 yen over two days.
Trade show models are typically not regular employees of the company, but are hired as they make a company's booth more visibly distinguishable from other booths with which it competes for attendee attention. If needed, they can explain or disseminate information on the company and its product and service, and can assist a company in handling a large number of attendees which the company might otherwise not have enough employees to accommodate, therefore increasing the number of sales or leads resulting from participation in the show. The models can be skilled at drawing attendees into the booth, engaging them in conversation, and at spurring interest in the product, service, or company.
The moniker "booth babe" is also controversial itself as it is considered offensive and degrading by some, including trade show models themselves. The term nevertheless continues to be often used by journalists and by the people opposed to the presence of the models they define as "booth babes".
Changing social and business standards have resulted in a decrease in the use of promotional models in trade shows, especially in the United States. The largest video gaming business convention, Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3), attempted to ban "conduct that is sexually explicit and/or sexually provocative" in 2006 following Agetec's 2005 "Anti Booth Babe" protest, but reversed on this stance in 2009, after complaints regarding this and other policy changes. GameSpot's Greg Kasavin commented that, with this attempt, the Entertainment Software Association (ESA) was "trying to put a definition to what constitutes scantily clad and what's borderline offensive" as it was "under a lot of pressure these days to clean up the image of games and to at least demonstrate that the video game industry is responsible in regulating itself" in the aftermath of Hot Coffee mod controversy.
China Digital Entertainment Expo & Conference (ChinaJoy) introduced and strictly enforced a dress code in 2012, saying they did not want "to send the wrong message" to their adolescent primary audience, and San Diego Comic-Con banned the SuicideGirls erotic models from having a booth in 2010. Video game convention Penny Arcade Expo (PAX) adopted a dress codes for both male and female models in what they call a "no booth babes" policy guideline, where "booth babes are defined as staff of ANY gender used by exhibitors to promote their products at PAX by using overtly sexual or suggestive methods. Partial nudity, the aggressive display of cleavage and the navel, and shorts/skirts higher than 4” above the knee are not allowed." Eurogamer Expo disallowed them completely in 2012, saying they wanted to make a more "friendly" show and all visitors "to feel comfortable," with a formal guideline saying "Booth babes are Not OK."
The Consumer Electronics Association (CEA), including its president and CEO Gary J. Shapiro and senior vice-president Karen Chupka, initially defended the use of female models who were deemed not dressed enough by critics but discouraged the practice in 2014 after a Change.org petition started by a Forbes technology journalist Connie Guglielmo demanded a ban on them and reached 250 signatures. The campaigners' proposal to "ban booth babes" was rejected as the CEA refused to "create and impose arbitrary or unenforceable rules, or worse, inch our event towards a ban on exposure of skin," but the new Consumer Electronics Show (CES) exhibitor guidelines stated, "recent news articles show that ‘booth babes’ can reflect poorly on your exhibit, so we ask that you give this thoughtful consideration, to avoid alienating or offending various audience segments."
In 2015, were among the items banned for booth staff at the RSA Conference, a major trade show/conference association, as part of dress codes that also informed booth staff not to wear minidresses or skintight bodysuits. The previous practice of having barely-clothed booth staffers was seen as creating a culture in which women were seen as "eye-candy or as decorative objects or hypersexualized figures".
On 31 January 2018, Formula One management announced that it would end the practice of grid girls who accompany the racers to the track, a tradition that "has been a staple of Formula 1 Grands Prix for decades", stating that "they feel this custom does not resonate with their brand values and clearly is at odds with modern day societal norms." The move has drawn criticism from former grid girls, including British model Kelly Brook. Former F1 executive Bernie Ecclestone and Red Bull Racing leader Christian Horner also expressed disapproval. * In February 2018, Formula 1 announced it intended to replace grid girls with a new program called grid kids that season. The children used would be competitors in karting or junior categories, chosen by national motorsport authorities.
In a similar move, the traditional Podium girl of cycling's Tour de France were removed and replaced with one male and one female host starting with the 2020 Tour de France.
Sports
After a round of talks with broadcasters, the Professional Darts Corporation announced on 27 January 2018 that it would discontinue the use of walk-on girls in darts tournaments. The decision has encountered a backlash from some fans, players and models.
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