in which I froth in rage forever.

[lassarina]

(Hat tip to synthclarion, who shared via Twitter.)

So, EA encourages you to sexually harass and grope their booth babes at ComicCon. Even better, if you do it the most obnoxiously, then you get to go out for "a SINful" evening with two hot women as a reward!

Someone please whack some sense into whatever marketing asshole thought this one up.I have so many

Comments

[phoenix_crow]

If you ask me it looks like desperate marketing. I looked up the game real quick just to see what the game was like. And with the line up that is coming up right before this game comes out they really don't stand much of a chance at selling this god of war clone

[lassarina]

Unfortunately, that's not the point I was trying to make. If it was just stupid advertising (like hiring a group of fake-fundies to protest the game at E3, which they also did), I would be annoyed/offended and move on.

The problem with this marketing stunt is that not only does it encourage objectification of women and exacerbates the already-present social tendency to treat women as objects whose intelligence, opinions, emotions, and personality are subordinate to the sexual whims of the nearest male, it deliberately extended that treatment beyond the women EA actually hired. The advertisement suggests that people go find other booth babes to take photos with.

Now, I've been to conventions. I have been most fortunate to usually have a mithrigil with me who is quite good at steering me out of the way of such trouble, but girls at cons are often treated as fair game ANYWAY. EA is taking an already bad situation and making it much, much worse

[phoenix_crow]

I can't say that I have been to conventions or the like, but it is my understanding that taking photos with "booth babes" is common practice. Perhaps I am wrong? If I am not, then all they are really doing is encouraging people to do what they normally do anyways. I suspect that most of the women know what that they may be asked to have there picture taken with strangers

[lassarina]

The problem isn't the taking photos, although that's symbolic of the deeper issues. The poster specifically encourages people to "commit acts of lust" (direct quote) and take photos of THAT. Taking photos with strangers--fine, whatever. Having to stand there while strangers grope you and get their friends to take pictures--not so much. Additionally, the poster then encourages attendees to seek out OTHER booth babes--ones who don't work for EA--and do the same thing. I am quite sure a number of female attendees of ComicCon were "mistaken" for booth babes as well. It's how this sort of Neanderthal undertaking tends to go.

I absolutely agree that booth babes are an idiotic thing to have and shouldn't be there. Sell your game on its own strength, not on the tits you can put next to it.