Product Models and Salesmen in Taiwan

     For one of the lessons in my Advertising and Marketing classes, I took pictures of product models and salesmen.  Photo by photo, I explained why I thought some costumes and other presentations were useful in marketing their products and why they were not.  Here are a few of the photos.
     The one on the left is attempting to associate her style and color with nature, as she's pushing a product associated with nature.  She's somewhat successful in this attempt.
     One on the right is trying to do the same, as she's pushing a product that's supposed to have an aroma associated with nature.  She looks more like a tacky example of cosplay.

     The lady in the two pictures here (left and right) is more successful in her attempt to fit the product she's selling.  She's selling food supplements, and she's costumed as medical personnel.  This costume works for at least two reasons: It looks more like a uniform than a costume; and people tend to think that medical personnel know more than most people what it takes to stay healthy.
     The lady in the next photo (left) is wearing the kind of smock that you might associate with someone who is familiar with cosmetics.  Further, it doesn't look like a costume.  

     Likewise, the gentleman on the right is dressed like someone you might see in a coffee shop.   He's pushing a coffeemaker.   His costume is a good fit and a respectable presentation.  The display counter, however, is too simple.  I've seen display counters that looked more like coffee shops.
    In the next two photos (left and right, below), the salesmen fit the colors of the costumes to the colors of the products, but that's all they succeed in doing.

     The next two photos (below, left and right) present quite a contrast.  Both are simple.
The one at below right is an excellent match in colors. At the same time,  it doesn't look like a costume.  

     The woman on the left is making no attempt to fit her clothing to the product she's pushing.  She's wearing a simple vest identifying herself as someone who is authorized to speak to total strangers and ask them to eat something that she's holding.

     Most of the models/salesmen in these photos are women.  There are two reasons for this: One reason is based on advertising practice; the other is based on psychology.
     In advertising, women are considered a "primary advertising symbol."  Like it or not, people would rather look at women than at men.  Even women would rather look at women.

     In a male-dominated society, men compete for dominance over other males and especially over women.  Both men and women tend to trust women more than they trust men.  Women also tend to smile more than men.  This element of trust is a second reason that, all other things being equal, women are more popularly selected as product models and salesmen.