Do bikinis sell car parts?
Halfway through the flight to Las Vegas, talking to the young woman seated beside me, we discovered we were both headed to the largest automotive aftermarket trade show in the world. I was going to the Specialty Equipment Marketing Association show as a journalist. She said she was going to SEMA to work at a booth for a wheel company. I was about to ask her thoughts on chrome dipping versus electroplating when she mentioned that her job would be to loiter at the booth, posing for pictures next to the product the company intended to sell. Now, I’m not a blatant feminist. I wear dresses, like shopping and think Paul Newman in his 70s is still a hottie, but one thing I feel strongly about is the role and perception of women in the automotive industry. I’ve often questioned the validity and value of using scantily dressed young women to increase sales of an auto product or service. And here I was, going to a trade show notorious for its “booth babes.” Does adorning your booth with scantily
