Wow. Late this afternoon I got an email advertisement from an equipment vendor that was astonishingly over the line of propriety. The company makes plasma tools for processing semiconductors, and they were advertising their upcoming exhibit at Semicon West, the big semiconductor trade show. One of their pieces of equipment is a tool that uses an oxygen plasma to strip away photoresist residue. The email ad included an image of this tool, and a picture of a (apparently supposedly hot) woman with a come-hither look, and big letters saying "I'll strip for you." I'm hardly a zealot of political correctness, but this was so unprofessional that my jaw dropped. This will not result in increased sales. At most companies something like that would be grounds for a harassment complaint.
UPDATE: here is the ad in question, with the vendor blocked out....
1 comment:
I don't know why this should be any less effective than "booth babes" at high tech conferences. The company clearly expects its primary customers to be male and, well, easily manipulated. They pull off a nice trick, managing to be hugely insulting to both women (who are objectified) and their prospective customers (whom they are stereotyping, I suppose, as hapless loser geeks desparate for female attention... 'cause, you know, no one normal ends up in science).
A masterpiece of advertising, really... :)
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