To boothbabe, or not to boothbabe...

By David Hollingworth
11:48 Jun 10, 2010 | 31 Comments
Tags: To | boothbabe | or | not | to | boothbabe

That's the question the popular Penny Arcade asked of its readers and PAX attendees, and the response is pretty cool.

I've always been of the opinion that the average Atomican* is very much pro-boothbabe. We've had them at Atomic Live, and they're a hit. We feature galleries of them at events, and they're real hit-magnets. Personally, I'm a little... conflicted over them (why can't we have booth-boys?!), but they seem pretty much an industry mainstay.

And with E3 on the horizon, I expect there'll be a lot there, too.

But the lads over at Penny Arcade have just conducted a poll on whether or not to ban boothbabes at the next PAX show, and the results are not only interesting, but personally very impressive. Fully 60 per cent of respondents either like or love the ban, and only twenty per cent hate or dislike the idea. So they're not actually banning boothbunnies at PAX, but they do now have a code of conduct regarding their dress, required gaming knowledge, and other stuff.

So... I'm curious: what's the current Atomic take on boothbabes?

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31 Comments

oscarcharliezulu Jun 10, 2010 12:28 PM	Now if you model the boothbabe on Hex from GoodGame, that would be ok by me. But to be fair, better put Bajo in a frock as well.
fliptopia Jun 10, 2010 12:39 PM	I worry that they put off girl gamers. I don't mind character based ones though. but they dont have to be gender biased there.
ArcaneMagik Jun 10, 2010 12:43 PM	I agree. Atomic should hire Bajo as a booth babe at the next atomic event. He has lady hips. Though I really see them as a way of trying to attract attention because your product or display cannot by itself. I really think all they would need is to hire cute female staff and it would have the same effect on males, they just don't have to be dressed in skimpy outfits.
zerassar Jun 10, 2010 12:45 PM	I put my vote down for booth boys. Had my first experience of booth babes at CeBit. Explained to my partner what they were.... I felt so much like a tech tourist lolz. Norton was so showed up by Crazydomains with their babes lolz
LordBug Jun 10, 2010 12:57 PM	Boothbabes put gamers across as being lowlife and crass as rednecks at a hick convention. If you're a real geek, you're interested in the tech, not some girl scantily dressed. If a group of girls wants to cosplay, then that's mighty fine. Paying some people to do it though, blah.
omega Jun 10, 2010 12:57 PM	Sex sells which we all know. However I agree with Arcane that they dont need to be dressed in skimpy outfits. And boothboys should be employed not only for female geeks but also for males who like the look of other males. Also to expand upon that putting sexy guys on GPU's :) Or on a Hard Disk a closeup of a hard di*k.
Taranthor Jun 10, 2010 1:10 PM	From what I've heard people saying at Atomic live I actually got the opposite reaction to them being "a hit". Most of the comments overheard were of distaste and that they are demeaning to both the girls and the punters intelligence.
markand_01 Jun 10, 2010 1:45 PM	Not really industry specific see them at car bike and boat shows. but girls scantily don’t mind them wouldn’t all together miss them, there for the tech agree with LordBug. Gotta have somefin for da girls.
Metasynaptic Jun 10, 2010 1:54 PM	I'm sure if the majority of techies were girls, there would be boothbois instead.
SceptreCore Jun 10, 2010 2:20 PM	I cannot believe I am reading these comments. Booth babes for the win! /end of blog
Hawkeye Jun 10, 2010 2:22 PM	Interesting point, Taranthor. I heard a bit of that myself, but I also saw a tonne of attendants lining up to get their photos taken with them. They are demeaning, I agree, but I also know that any story where we mention them is popular. I'd love to see Atomic's response match that of Penny Arcade, personally, but I'm not sure that's going to be the case.
Rage09 Jun 10, 2010 2:33 PM	What we'd like to see and what we like seeing are different. Hot chicks in costumes are nice to look at and I doubt any guy thinks its demeaning while he's looking. IMO it more demeaning towards the game/tech than it is towards the women, they're models getting paid to do a job and most of them do like being looked at, just not by your stereotypical geek. As where you compare it to the women at car shows the quality of thier audience is assumed to be fairer so it not such a problem there. I like the response of PAX to have thier booth bunnies useful as well as eyecandy instead of just eyecandy.
hazarama Jun 10, 2010 2:33 PM	Cosplay booth babes and dudes would be a win win imo
GhostWhoWalks Jun 10, 2010 8:27 PM	I've always disliked the whole booth chick thing. It seems stupid to me. I don't go to an electronics show to look at chicks, I go there to see new tech, gain information, find out about new trends, etc. I'd almost always rather speak to an expert rather than some chick they hired as day labor and stuck in a short skirt or spandex or something. If I want to see hot chicks, I'll go to a fucking strip club after E3 or PAX.
supam Jun 10, 2010 11:05 PM	"As where you compare it to the women at car shows the quality of thier audience is assumed to be fairer so it not such a problem there. " Only if quality means random bikers asking them to flash their tits every 5 minutes.
Sorceror Jun 11, 2010 1:09 AM	I'm not a fan of booth babes. How about actually putting a poll up?
DDevine Jun 11, 2010 9:21 AM	I am pro booth babes in one sense - but I think the obvious solution is to have a maximum of 2 babes or 66.6666% so that there is a guy there to talk more tech (though if the girls can talk tech then they can bend this rule!) so that way you can both come to oogle the booth babes and nobody has their intelligence insulted! Also you can genuinely claim that you were checking out the product.
Kurai Jun 11, 2010 10:59 AM	Boothgirls are fine (I'd love to see boothboys too!) as long as they either have a bit of tech knowledge or are willing to learn a bit about their product before the day. I think tight tshirts and jeans are fine, nothing more skimpy is really needed unless there is cosplay invloved. But really it's all about attitude. Nothing worse than some stuck up princess who think nerds are "icky losers", or that they ignore the geek girls at events because they can't use their sex and vapid expressions to sell (funny how they assume only boys are interested in them?)as this really comes across when they speak to people at events.
tantryl Jun 11, 2010 11:06 AM	Yeah, bbabes make the nerds/geeks are creepy virgins stereotype ring true.
sirtrancealot Jun 11, 2010 11:21 AM	Im a firm believer that cool tech shouldn't be the only eye candy at tech events. and yeah some booth lads to cater for the gamer chicks out there can't hurt. but yeh it's also nice when the hotty at the stand actually has some intelligent to say, not just a pretty face
alexdtree Jun 11, 2010 12:07 PM	i like the idea of boothbabes personally however i think they should be there to talk to aswell i think any gamers fantasy is some SUPER hot chick that games aswell so babes with intelligence and gamer know how would be tops
somemadcaaant Jun 11, 2010 1:06 PM	In the words of Father Jack Hackett… Drink! Feck! Arse! Girls!
Dazerath Jun 12, 2010 2:22 PM	How about IGN's Jessica Chobot? she is HOT! but knows her games.. I'm sure she know her tech too :) ahh... Jessica Chobot... my future ex-wife haha
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Daro Jun 13, 2010 7:14 PM	I was at an IT trade show last week when I was chatting to the organisers about the process they go through when they organise booth babes. I was introduced to the babes, and we were all chatting about the process of coming to those events. One of them offered me her number. ...okay, business card. She also mentioned her she plays WoW, when the other also shared her secret that she sometimes plays too. They were embarrassed to admit it.
Harpy Queen Jun 13, 2010 9:20 PM	I'm all for people that actually know their tech/games, whether they be guys or girls, but against picking people just for being good looking.
corinoco Jun 14, 2010 6:59 PM	Booth..oids? Fine. Must be 50/50 m/f. Simple rule. Obey.
sora3 Jun 16, 2010 6:42 PM	Well, I'm kind of for and against booth girls. Having attended a few events where I was there for the purpose of work, they have their points. The problem comes in why are they there for. For eye candy and the like, possibly but only if they also know what the event is like. I've asked a few girls and they had no idea on what the event was about. So yeah, education and as well as an adjustment in the mentality 'geeks = guys that can't socialise' will probably do wonders.
Athlonite Jun 16, 2010 11:09 PM	Fuck yeah Booth babes are a must as long as they keep their mouths shut on shit they don't know a damn thing about and give out loads of free stuff and pose for pics then hell YEAH!!!!
Athlonite Jun 16, 2010 11:13 PM	actually i know a fair few hot geek girls and yeah some like the hot girls some want a hot guy to show off stuff
deonast Jun 16, 2010 11:57 PM	I have a soft spot for seeing booth babes, but hey I'm male and I like looking at attractive women. I doubt I would have a problem with booth boys for those of the other persuasion. I guess it is sexist and probably not needed for what is ultimately what is about the tech. Then again cosplay isn't about the tech either, but it adds to the colour and flavour of an event. I guess it comes down the the individual, I like pretty girls in or out of costumes (probably not the best wording there). If you behave like an adult and not a drooling moron then there probably isn't a big problem. The booth babes are getting paid for what is ultimately a modelling gig for tech. I just hope it doesn't make our female gamers and tech fans uncomfortable. The tech industry is over represented by males as it is so wouldn't want to be driving them away. Its a hard call, but I like the booth babes.

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Issue: 137 | June, 2012

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