The ongoing 12th Auto Expo has surpassed its previous versions as it offers a massive buffet of sleek and stylish cars and stunning motorbikes.
Adding spice to a very technical event is the glamour quotient, which is extremely high in this expo. A stroll through the pavilions of various car companies makes it obvious that the automobile giants have spared no efforts to make their exhibition prefect.
The “girl factor” has always been closely associated with the automobile industry as no launch, exhibition or even motor sports events are complete without pretty, smiling, heavily made-up models draped in exquisite outfits dotting the venue. In an attempt to understand just how important it is for car makers to position beautiful women next to their shining automobiles, The Pioneer interacted with both the models and management of the car companies.
German luxury car maker Mercedes Benz, one of the biggest names in the global automobile industry, brought its high-precision designing to the overall look and feel of its pavilion. Right from the cars on display, to the lights and flooring, everything has been meticulously planned and implemented, said Santosh Iyer, vice-president (Marketing), Mercedes Benz India.
The company also paid a lot of attention to the models which were specially flown in from abroad. “The women you see in our pavilion are all professional models from Australia. We have around 14- 15 female models, who were selected on the basis of their personality, experience and communication skills. Once the models are finalised, they undergo two training sessions with us where we train them in basic etiquettes and brief them about the products,” he said.
As it turns out, the models have to do a lot more than merely stand around and look pretty. Apart from sporting welcoming smiles on their faces, the models provide basic information about the cars to the crowd. They work as the middle link between possible customers and sales representatives of the car company.
So what the car manufactures look for is beauty with brains to complement the stylish and sleek cars that have come out from their stable. Most of the models, who are in the age group of 20 to 25 years, come from different backgrounds and aspire to be professional models. One of them is Kiran, who is pursuing History Honors from a college in Delhi University.
“We come through the modeling agencies where we undergo three rounds of selection. We are judged on the basis of our looks, personality and knowledge. Once selected, the car company provides us with make-up artists and the dresses that we wear during the expo,” said Kiran.
When asked about the working hours and the remuneration she said: “On an average we have a 12-hour shift with breaks in between. As far as pay is concerned, all I can say is that it is worth standing and smiling for this long.”
While talking to a modeling coordinator who provides models to various exhibitors, it turns out that along with Indian, a lot of foreign models from Spain, Italy, Prague, South-East Asia and Japan were also hired for the expo. Another coordinator revealed that the remuneration normally ranges between Rs 10,000 to Rs 25,000 per day, depending upon the experience, personality and beauty of the model.
like Mercedes, Audi also paid a lot of attention to detail while planning for the expo. “A special team of the company takes care of exhibitions all across the world. They travel with the necessary equipment, cars and architecture. The models on the other hand are mostly selected from the country where the exhibition takes place,” officials from Audi said.
While most of the exhibitors preferred good looking women, Audi went a step ahead and hired male models as well. As per Audi officials, all the models are hired from regional modeling agencies and are selected on the basis of their personality and warm attitude.
One of the models at the Audi pavilion, lakshay Khurana, who comes from a business family, chose to be part of the expo for the exposure it gave him. “It is a step towards my modeling career and provides good exposure. We get to talk to so many people and at times have to handle the crowd as well. As far as money is concerned, we all get different pays, but it is worth standing from 8 in the morning for.”
John Kullu, GM (Marketing) for Nissan Motor India tried to explain the reason behind the mix of girls with cars. Kullu said: “Models, both hosts and hostesses, are selected for their overall personality, confidence and knowledge. We look for pleasant-looking and warm people as they have to interact with customers and help them.”
When asked why most of the models were young and whether there was a biased attitude towards slightly older women, Kullu said: “For us age did not matter. We looked for the model’s previous experience, crowd handling and communication skills. But yes, mostly youngsters apply for the job.”