More Than Eye Candy

More Than "Spin and Grin"

Auto Show Models Expected to be Experts

Starting in the mid-1990s, Detroit automakers shifted away from putting the young and the beautiful on their cars in favor of "product specialists" -- men and women chosen less for their looks and more for their ability to transform into walking information kiosks.  

Even the remaining fashion-forward models were expected to field questions about the vehicles they were draped over. With consumers growing more knowledgeable about new vehicles -- and women accounting for a larger share of car buyers -- the old way seemed sexist.  

While that approach became standard practice in the United States, overseas auto shows never made such a move. (And there's one big U.S. exception: the Specialty Equipment Manufacturers Association - SEMA - show in Las Vegas for aftermarket parts, whose imagery can't even be linked from family-minded auto show blogs.)

Once thought of "eye candy" to go along with the vehicles, product specialists have evolved from standing and smiling to becoming a major part of the show.

Margery Krevsky, founder and president of Productions Plus - The Talent Shop, has nothing to do with manufacturing or designing vehicles, but she pioneered how automakers look at auto show "models."

Productions Plus was started by Krevsky and a partner 33 years ago with a handful or so of product specialist for one automaker. The Bingham Farms, MI-based business now operates offices in New York, Los Angeles ad Chicago with hundreds of employees and dozens of clients.

At this year's Detroit auto show, Productions Plus had more than 300 people working for 13 automotive brands and companies.

Krevsky, certainly not a gearhead, has turned into an icon in the automotive world, and was given the title of "The Queen Bee of the Car Show Models" from Forbes Magazine. 

Sources:
1. Justin Hyde, "Chrysler Brings Back Sexy Show Models," Detroit Free Press, January 12, 2013
2. Michael Wayland, "Not Just 'Eye Candy," AnnArbor.com, January 27, 2013
3. Productions Plus - The Talent Shop website: http://www.productions-plus.com/