The First Glamour Models Who Helped Sell Games

One of the longest traditions in trade shows and conventions has been the hiring of glamour models to work as brand ambassadors and trade show models, with glamour model photography helping to draw attention and catch the eye of people on the convention floor.

Trade show models, sometimes known as “booth babes” are still a common sight at trade shows and conventions, particularly in entertainment industries such as computer games, typically wearing outfits and costumes inspired by the brands they are representing.

With the rise of the use of cosplayers and highly knowledgeable enthusiasts as brand representatives, trade show models often can provide not only a unique look but also a strong degree of insight into a particular product.

This is not a new trend, nor a new controversy, as one of the earliest computer game trade events in the UK featured talking points that may sound quite familiar.

In 1986, Personal Computer World magazine held their annual trade show and one of the companies setting up a booth was London’s System 3. 

That year, they were marketing the games International Karate and Twister: Mother of Charlotte, and to get noticed they planned to have two very different types of presentations to show them off.

International Karate would have a series of breezeblock-breaking demonstrations, whilst Twister (then known under the name Mother of Harlots) would feature a troupe of exotic dancers emphasising the strange and vaguely sensual themes of the game.

The first problem was that the karatekas and the barefoot dancers shared the same stage, meaning that they were dancing on sharp bits of breezeblock, meaning that there were only a few cycles of this before they stopped.

The bigger problem was that the event owners threatened to cut power to the stand entirely if the dancers continued, with company owner Mark Cale holding out as long as he could before conceding.

Ultimately, both games were successes, and whilst System 3 was banned for their antics, they opened the door for a wider assortment of trade show booths and became immensely successful.