Nikki Blog

Booth Bunnies, or commonly known as “Pretties” in Thailand, are now used to sell everything from cars to light bulbs. I’m talking about the almost half naked women standing at a booth 8 hours a day allowing onlookers to photograph them next to whatever they are selling.

But is using a pretty face and body, both that have nothing to do with a product, really an effective way to do a marketing? Do pretties actually attract potential customers or deter them? Are they damaging women’s position as equal in the society, emphasizing the perception of females as just sex objects? These questions can only really be answered over the long term, but we can discuss some of the effects that are already apparent today.

I was at the recent Commart exhibition, looking for a new digital camera. As I pushed my way through the sea of people, I noticed the crowd that was blocking me gathered around 2 beautiful girls in skimpy outfits; blue and silver plastic that would not look out of place in a Star Trek movie. They were promoting the latest laptop deals, spelling out the list of latest technologies, encouraging passersby to try out the gadget, and posing for a lot of photos. They are the pretties, the mainstay of Thailand’s exhibitions and trade shows for the last few years. Are the marketing people running out of idea to create “hype” around their new products?

The Pretties — or product representatives (PRs) as some of them prefer to be called — can be seen promoting products of all shape and size. All over the city, they are selling cosmetics, computers, cameras, household appliances, energy and alcoholic drinks. You will also not miss them at movie and show premiers, concerts, new magazine openings, sporting and charity events. A marketing campaign does not seem complete without the pretties gracing the scene.In fact, the pretties sometimes become an integral part of an event, the annual motor show being a prime example. Every year, people flock to the motor show to see the pretties as much as the cars. Even at the book fairs in Sirikit Convention Center, you will see girls in luscious gear advocating paperbacks and magazine subscriptions.

Are pretty faces and sexy outfits now the only way to connect to Thai consumers?The partial answer seems to be, yes. There is now a prospering industry providing pretties to event organizers, and training to girls aspiring to become pretties. A simple search on the Internet would turn up hundreds of such agencies. The websites show head shots of up to hundred pretty girls each, some look so young like they are still in high school. And they probably are.The majority of the pretties are college students and new graduates, but girls as young as 16 are being drawn to the profession. This has attracted critical comments from Thailand’s Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of Education. Many schools now explicitly ban students under 20 from taking on such jobs, yet there is no shortage of young girls wanting to join the fray.

Being a pretty can be quite lucrative. Many stay in the professions until they are nearly thirty years old.It has to be said that being a pretty is a legitimate job, and it requires more than just outward physical appeals. They have to know about the products being marketed, and quick thinking is often needed to react to the hundreds of peoples they deal with. Pretties can be appropriate as part of some campaign. But putting them in front of any and all products you want to sell, as being done today, is going overboard.And what happen when there starts to be more pretties to go around than jobs to be filled? Some makes the transition from “pretties” to “coyotes”. (a story for another day). Many modeling agencies provide both pretties and coyotes girls, making it easy for the girls to switch when pretties jobs dry up, and blurring the difference between the two camps even more. Being a pretty is a full time job for many bright young girls, and I worry for their future. They will not have much to build another career on once their pretties days are over, especially for those who choose to continue into their late twenties. We will see some of them advancing into conventional marketing and public relation roles, but the percentage are small and it is wrong to pin that false hope on our young girls.

Ultimately, use of pretties is widespread because it can be an effective way to increase businesses. We will continue to see them in Bangkok and all around Thailand. But let’s have a balance and use them wisely where it is fit. At the trade show, I saw many parents dragging their child away from one booth where the pretties were dressing too sexily. That is a lost business opportunity. Earlier this year at the book fair, there were pretties at every corner of the hall. One of them was promoting Buddhism and meditation books while dressed like she just came out of a Formula One Grand Prix. What is all this stupidity of marketing everything only towards guys?

A better company should market the products based on its quality and use the right spokespeople in advertisements. This means a company should think about the relationship between the spokesperson and the advertised product. Too sexy of a model can actually negatively influence product perception as an inferior good. Consumers may be concerned of the quality of the product and will suspect the undue influence of the model to compensate for the lower quality. I usually consider the attractiveness of the spokesperson first, then look at the product, and last evaluate the model’s relevance to the product. In other words, a woman in a short skirt does not seem credible as an authority on advising me which camera I should buy.