Comic-Con Bounty Hunt for EA Booth Babes
Massive crowds flocked to San Diego this week for the 40th Annual Comic-Con Convention. This multi-genre convention caters to fans of comics, video games, sci-fi/fantasy films, anime and more. The convention has grown every year, and for the first time ever in 2008, sold out entirely in advance.
So with over 9,000 vendors vying for attention from over 123,000 attendees (numbers from 2006 statistics) [1], what can a company do to stand out? Well this year, EA Games has come up with a new way to beat the competition – pimp out their booth babes.
EA’s contest, a promotion for the game Dante’s Inferno, encourages fans to hunt down EA Booth Babes at the convention and “commit acts of lust” with them. One fan “wins” two girls for a night, including dinner, a limo ride, and “booty,” apparently. [2]
For an industry that is trying to include more women [3] and accommodate the thousands of fangirls in attendance at Comic-Con this year, it’s surprising EA didn’t recognize how alienating and misogynistic this crude promotion could be.
ADDITIONAL NOTE: John from the blog “Comics Oughta Be Fun!” describes instances of sexual harassment at Comic-Con last year, and how he saw it go generally unnoticed and unacknowledged by CC staff. (Read John’s post here)
Sources:
Thanks to StilettoREVOLT Reader Kai Porter for this story!
This is horrid. I’ve worked SDCC – in costume – to promote a friend’s comic. The creepy guy factor is off of the charts at Comic Con and the organizers KNOW THIS.
What’s sad is the number of women who are attending (especially with Twilight – for better or for worse) is at the highest it’s ever been. What kind of message is this giving to the young female fans?
You know what u have to do when u take the job. Don’t cry about it. If ur pride’s that strong then work elsewhere. Unless ur saying that Comic Con staff FORCE u to wear outfits which attract attention. Jeez. Feminist.
You know what you’re going to get on a pro-equality website, Gary. Don’t cry about it. If your contempt for women is that strong, then go elsewhere. Unless you’re saying SR staff FORCED you to read our articles. Jeez. Chauvinist.
I am a hardcore anime fan, and they consequently also have their women kick a lot of ass. Maybe you should watch more anime, you won’t be so frustrated.