One of the oldest and most often used tactics in sales is to employ a woman in a bikini. A short skirt will do just as well. It’s safe to say we’ve reached a place in history where this gimmick is transparent. In Queensland, Australia, local authorities think it’s not only transparent, but trashy, and want to eliminate a longstanding program that puts bikini-clad meter maids on the streets in a prime tourist area, according to the dailymail.co.uk
Started in 1965, Meter Maids were the brainchild of Gold Coast developer Bernie Elsey who introduced the initiative to stave off the bad publicity associated with newly installed parking meters. The controversial move involved young women dressed in gold bikinis walking the main tourist strip and placing money into expired meters.
Members of the city’s chamber of commerce say the Maids have turned into a business that mainly sells branded merchandise to tourists, but don’t really support parking services. The Meter Maids operators see the group as an asset to the community, as well as a beloved tradition.
Mr. (Michael) Yarwood, (general manager of Surfers Paradise Meter Maids) said Meter Maids were the “underutilised resource” to help revamp the region. “Meter Maids invoke in most people that wonderful memory of that beachside holiday Surfers Paradise,” he said.
Not all traditions need to be upheld. Many need to be examined in the light of the realities of the present, not the past. What was an acceptable tradition in 1950 isn’t necessarily appropriate in 2015.
Read the article here.
