A Wider Net

I probably shouldn’t be giving up more links over to Gizmodo after the TV-B-Gone stunt but they have a very good point with this post that I had been meaning to highlight. At CES last week, IBM utilized female ambassadors with LCD screens embedded in their T-Shirts. This, by itself, is neither a problem or unprecedented.

They added a line of text to the shirt that says “Stop Talking. Start Doing” which is subtle, yet still fairly inappropriate. But it’s the fact that they require these women to say to viewers of their shirt-screens “Are you looking at my chest?” that puts them over the line. The outfit is ugly, the campaign is stale, and this tactic is embarrassing.

IBM - you’re a brilliant company with tons to offer. This doesn’t suit you.