Viet Nam News
Driver for phone company fined for transporting sexy models in transparent boxes on city streets
Some companies will go to great lengths to sell their goods. One time-tested way is to use sexy models, either male or female, to advertise goods and services.
Anxious to improve sales of a new Samsung product, The Gioi Di Dong, a mobile phone company, placed a pretty female model in a transparent box on the back of a pickup truck and then rode around town.
The truck’s driver, Dinh Manh Ha, was fined VND900,000 by Ha Noi traffic police for carrying a passenger in a manner that violates land transport regulations. His driver’s licence was revoked for two months. At the police station on August 11, Ha confessed to the violations.
The truck, which sported a The Gioi Di Dong logo, was followed by a group of motorbikes, attracting public attention.
The mobile phone retailer had been holding a PR event on Nguyen Khanh Toan Street on that day.
To Van Dong, director of the Ha Noi Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, said the company had conducted the PR stunt without the department’s permission and would be fined VND6 million (US$274) for violations.
Other companies have met the same fate. In May, a restaurant in Cau Giay District was fined VND40 million (US$1,700) for using PR girls in bikinis to serve beer and food to guests.
In August, the Ha Noi-based Tran Anh electronics store held promotions that featured young women in bikinis, welcoming visitors and introducing air-conditioning products.VNS