Formula 1 Scraps The Use Of Grid Girls For The 2018 SeasonFormula 1

[Belifant]

Not in all cases, there are full time employed grid girls which stay with the one team or brand. For example Monster Energy girls stay constant for however long their contract is and are so ingrained in the brand they represent they are known by name and even gain fans of their own.

Sure, but their job involves a lot of other things around the races, not just being the grid girl. And if Monster Energy ever decided to take their brand into a more serious and classy direction they could very well don't use those girls anymore for brand strategy reasons.

 

[Johnnypenso]

many people seem not to understand how the"grid girl" business works. They are sourced through a local model agency at each race just for those few days the race is there and are paid by the organiser of the event. Not by F1 or the teams directly. The week after they are modelling for a different event. They are not out of work because of this change.

Now that does not mean that the model don't like being a grid girl. I'm sure many of them like being a grid girl, it is probably way more fun than standing in a shopping mall presenting products. So of course you find plenty of grid girls on twitter who are upset about this decision.

But this decision has nothing to do with feminism or political correctness, as some are suggesting ("PC sucks because if I say something rude or offensive, people will attack me").

It's a marketing and branding decision, pure and simple.

There's nothing pure and simple about it. "Clearly is at odds with modern day societal norms" is code for "We're afraid of pc backlash and don't want to be called out". You are literally surrounded by advertising and marketing every single day that features attractive people selling things. Many of them are dressed provocatively and/or are outrageously attractive. Putting an end to grid girls is akin to saying you don't want to get wet in a rainstorm so you hold a penny over your head.

It's neat how you can be so dismissive though. They are not out of work? Being a grid girl exposes you to 400,000,000 people. Where else do you think someone in the business of looking good, among other things, is going to get that kind of exposure? This decision is going to be life altering for some of the grid girls. You think that's why you'll find plenty of them on twitter upset about this decision? The only people losing by this decision are the girls themselves.

 

[2clicks]

Sure, but their job involves a lot of other things around the races, not just being the grid girl. And if Monster Energy ever decided to take their brand into a more serious and classy direction they could very well don't use those girls anymore for brand strategy reasons.

Serious and classy? Yes because F1 considering child mascots as a replacement is a much classier direction.

 

[TheCracker]

They are not out of work? Being a grid girl exposes you to 400,000,000 people. Where else do you think someone in the business of looking good, among other things, is going to get that kind of exposure? This decision is going to be life altering for some of the grid girls. You think that's why you'll find plenty of them on twitter upset about this decision? The only people losing by this decision are the girls themselves.

I wonder if the loss of work is their biggest motivator to go on Twitter and whine about it, or whether the exposure they get from doing so is actually the main factor. Do they hop onto Twitter when their local discount bed superstore closes down and they lose that promotions-girl gig?

The day it was announced i heard some British grid girl get interviewed about it on national radio. Her argument held no water and she sounded more like she just wanted to get her name and profession on the radio and/or was put up to it by one of red top tabloids and their crusade against 'political correctness'

 

[2clicks]

Do they hop onto Twitter when their local discount bed superstore closes down and they lose that promotions-girl gig?

This is very much 'apples to oranges'.

 

[TheCracker]

This is very much 'apples to oranges'.

Not really. Paid work is paid work at the end of the day.

It's not like comparing a job as an F1 driver to the driver of a discount bed superstore delivery van. That's apples to oranges.

The skills of standing around, smiling and looking appealing on an F1 grid are directly transferable to standing around, smiling and looking appealing next to a super king-sized memory foam mattress.

 

[Johnnypenso]

I wonder if the loss of work is their biggest motivator to go on Twitter and whine about it, or whether the exposure they get from doing so is actually the main factor. Do they hop onto Twitter when their local discount bed superstore closes down and they lose that promotions-girl gig?

The day it was announced i heard some British grid girl get interviewed about it on national radio. Her argument held no water and she sounded more like she just wanted to get her name and profession on the radio and/or was put up to it by one of red top tabloids and their crusade against 'political correctness'

The level of arrogance in this response is incredible. It's "whining" when you lose work for no reason? It's "whining" when you're in the business of looking good and the ability to market yourself to 400,000,000 prospective customers is taken away for the "greater good"? Comparing a local telly ad to exposure on the world's biggest sporting stage shows you really have no idea what you're talking about.

 

[Belifant]

There's nothing pure and simple about it. "Clearly is at odds with modern day societal norms" is code for "We're afraid of pc backlash and don't want to be called out". You are literally surrounded by advertising and marketing every single day that features attractive people selling things. Many of them are dressed provocatively and/or are outrageously attractive. Putting an end to grid girls is akin to saying you don't want to get wet in a rainstorm so you hold a penny over your head.

But it is just marketing. There is a market for girls dressed in sexy clothes, and there are markets and target groups where it is not so smart to use them. You wouldn't see girls with little clothes at an event of for example Rolls Roys or Rolex. Because they market their products in a different way. For some markets, grid girls work, and for some they don't. It's just how you want to place your product and what audience you want to attract that way. The owner of F1 decided they want to change their approach in how they market their product, and that's what they did. No PC conspiracy here.

It's neat how you can be so dismissive though. They are not out of work? Being a grid girl exposes you to 400,000,000 people. Where else do you think someone in the business of looking good, among other things, is going to get that kind of exposure? This decision is going to be life altering for some of the grid girls. You think that's why you'll find plenty of them on twitter upset about this decision? The only people losing by this decision are the girls themselves.

Exposure alone doesn't pay your bills. And they are not out of work because being a grid girl is not their full time job. It's a job for one weekend a year. I work in marketing for one of the world's biggest sport events, and we hire hostesses by the hundreds. We hire them for one day, and that's it. After that, they go to the next modelling job.

I agree if a girl enjoyed being a grid girl at F1, which I guess most where, it sucks for them not be able to do that anymore. But that doesn't mean they have a right to do that job indefinitely. The owner of F1 decided to change their marketing strategy, so they are not needed anymore. Losing a job or a contract happens daily in every business. You just try to move on.

Serious and classy? Yes because F1 considering child mascots as a replacement is a much classier direction.

It was just meant as an example. It was not meant to make a direct connection to F1 or Monster Energy. I don't know what F1's strategy really is.

PS: I do enjoy grid girls and I'm not against having them at all. But I understand the reasoning why they are not used anymore. With a high value brand like this, a lot of thought goes into how you market and position it, down to every little detail like what kind of beverages you serve in the hospitality areas, as an example.

 

[TheCracker]

Exposure alone doesn't pay your bills. And they are not out of work because being a grid girl is not their full time job. It's a job for one weekend a year. I work in marketing for one of the world's biggest sport events, and we hire hostesses by the hundreds. We hire them for one day, and that's it. After that, they go to the next modelling job.

I agree if a girl enjoyed being a grid girl at F1, which I guess most where, it sucks for them not be able to do that anymore. But that doesn't mean they have a right to do that job indefinitely. The owner of F1 decided to change their marketing strategy, so they are not needed anymore.

Exactly. I can remember F1 before they had grid girls. Or certainly before TV picked up on showing them.

Things change, we move on and adapt to everything else going on in the world.

I can't even recall grid girls being shown on TV in recent years. Certainly not being focused on. You may see them in the background of a commentator's grid walk, and you'll see them lining a corridor as the camera waits for the drivers to exit the green room on their way to the podium, but that's pretty much it. Certainly on the TV feeds i've seen. Perhaps the cameras linger on them more on different broadcaster's feeds.

 

[F1GTR]

There are grid girls though that are full time rather than event or contract models. For example Monster Girls or other team specific girls that go all over the world and attend lots of events representing just that brand. They are literally employees and if they get fired they loose their livelihood.

That depends on whether the ban extends to a brand's own compound, so far it just seems that having grid girls isn't part of Liberty's branding for F1. Heck it might even make companies like Monster double down on their girls and bring even more in.

It can be yes, but this kind of answer gives me vibes of "It happens, therefore we have to accept it". I would have imagined grid girls would have differences in their contracts, arrangements or whatever than what would be typical of the modelling industry, but I have zero knowledge on that.

I work in a related industry (as a fashion photographer/photo assistant), 99% of the arrangements are as I described. Occasionally you'll get a model that's exclusively signed to a brand (typically a season or two), but that's literally one in 10,000.

The level of arrogance in this response is incredible. It's "whining" when you lose work for no reason? It's "whining" when you're in the business of looking good and the ability to market yourself to 400,000,000 prospective customers is taken away for the "greater good"? Comparing a local telly ad to exposure on the world's biggest sporting stage shows you really have no idea what you're talking about.

A model has a far better chance of landing a campaign (where the money is) by being in editorials for magazines over F1. I doubt many casting directors even watch F1. It’s agencies that get them seen by the right people, not some 15 second glimpse during an F1 broadcast, half of which are on during times where the major fashion cities in Europe/the US are still asleep.

 

[LMSCorvetteGT2]

F1 cars today sound like crap today that is more important.

There is more important issues in F1 rather than muh grid girls.

Bring back the v8s and the v10s.

So not are you only quick to insult a group of people who do a certain job you find fault with, or because of some insecurity. You further go down the rabbit hole and suggest that a bigger issue is sound...and suggest bringing back slower engines and highly less efficient engines.

As someone who has done engineering school, the main issue with why women aren't in engineering is because it's not been an industry that appeals to them or is highlighted well to them (or kids in general), and for the most part the FOM and FIA aren't do much to change that. It's ironic that they see an issue with grid girls, yet aren't promoting more female drivers or a way for them to have a path into the lower tiers of the sport, nor the same for engineers.

 

[Johnnypenso]

A model has a far better chance of landing a campaign (where the money is) by being in editorials for magazines over F1. I doubt many casting directors even watch F1. It’s agencies that get them seen by the right people, not some 15 second glimpse during an F1 broadcast, half of which are on during times where the major fashion cities in Europe/the US are still asleep.

The audience is in the hundreds of millions regardless of what time the races are on, your argument about people sleeping is pure strawman. Dozens upon dozens of magazines carry pictures. Thousands upon thousands of social media posts follow, online news articles, worldwide exposure. You literally are just making things up and being dismissive to support your side of the argument.

 

[F1GTR]

The audience is in the hundreds of millions regardless of what time the races are on, your argument about people sleeping is pure strawman. Dozens upon dozens of magazines carry pictures. Thousands upon thousands of social media posts follow, online news articles, worldwide exposure. You literally are just making things up and being dismissive to support your side of the argument.

Hundreds of millions of people that aren’t even the right target audience. Dozens of magazines that won’t even be found in the few offices of modelling agencies. Thousands of social media posts that will probably consist of low quality photos of fans standing next to grid girls - not exactly something you’d print an 8x10 out of to bring to your next casting.

Now contrast this with an editorial with a top photographer and a stylist, in a magazine seen by industry insiders and people who actually have a say in the imagery produced for brands.

I’ll admit, the sleeping thing is irrelevant since they’ll be Asian races, and Fashion/Advertising has issues with not casting enough non-white models anyway.

 

[Belifant]

The audience is in the hundreds of millions regardless of what time the races are on, your argument about people sleeping is pure strawman. Dozens upon dozens of magazines carry pictures. Thousands upon thousands of social media posts follow, online news articles, worldwide exposure. You literally are just making things up and being dismissive to support your side of the argument.

You put too much value on random exposure. Showing up on an instagram feed doesn't land you a modelling job. Being hired and contracted by a model agency lands you castings and jobs. Jobs like being a grid girl. These grid girls all have agencies, that's how they got there in the first place.

 

[2clicks]

It was just meant as an example. It was not meant to make a direct connection to F1 or Monster Energy. I don't know what F1's strategy really is.

I don't think the superiors at F1 even know what their strategy is. The decision to get rid of the grid girls is set in stone, but they present no clear plan on what is to fill the void - options are still apparently being 'considered', some being unethical. It's like selling your house and handing it over to new tenants while in the process being left homeless by still 'considering' new options at the realtor.

 

[Exorcet]

Even if you're at the absolute extreme of the grid girls argument (i.e. you basically just want to stare at pretty girls for a bit before a race and think losing them is all PC nonsense), it's difficult not to argue that ultimately, inspiring young people (of either gender) to get involved in motorsport is a hugely worthwhile goal. For me, that goal is slightly easier to achieve if 50% of the world's population aren't represented in the sport as decoration alone.

I'm a little late on this chain of the discussion, but I wonder how much difference representation makes, and how much difference it should make. I don't see anything wrong with accepting that men and women will have different interests as groups and I think this is something worth explaining to kids. They shouldn't be put off from doing something just because they're part of a small demographic. It really shouldn't make a difference to them. While it's true that human nature is not completely rational, we are capable of learning and overwriting our subconscious responses to a degree.

F1's decision is fine, they can do what they want and there are valid points that can be made to support the decision. I'm not sure that anything will actually come out of it though.

 

[Veinz]

A very politically correct decision for all those special snowflakes out there.

 

[-Cheezman-]

Get rid of the cars, bring back the girls. F1 might get interesting again.

 

[Roo]

A very politically correct decision for all those special snowflakes out there.

The best part of this whole non-issue has been seeing the people complaining about snowflakes going full snowflake themselves.

 

[Veinz]

Lol whatever, spin it any way you like. Seems everyones a social justice warrior now a days.

 

[TenEightyOne]

I'm far more concerned about the change of every start time than I am about the loss of any particular advertising stream.

 

[TheCracker]

The decision to get rid of the grid girls is set in stone, but they present no clear plan on what is to fill the void.

Fill what void? They don't do owt!

Perhaps Ross Brawn can nip down to B&Q with some petty cash and grab a trolley full of those outside table umbrella stands that you fill with water or sand to hold up the driver name/number signs in front of each car one the grid.

If he's got any change left maybe he can buy some jazz mags to hand out to those in the stands that feel they're missing out on a bit of t&a.

 

[Danoff]

"Clearly is at odds with modern day societal norms" is code for "We're afraid of pc backlash and don't want to be called out".

Noooooooot reeeaaaally.

That can be interpreted as "this used to come off less trashy than it does today". In otherwords, it used to enhance their brand image and now it appears to hurt. Times change, and they are being mindful of that when considering how they portray themselves. No PC backlash fears are needed to interpret that.

 

[LennyB]

Marketing and political correctness go hand in hand, unless you're target is a very small demographic. I can't see a way that keeping the girls would have hurt F1 in any way, most likely won't help them either.

 

[twitcher]

Fill what void? They don't do owt!

Perhaps Ross Brawn can nip down to B&Q with some petty cash and grab a trolley full of those outside table umbrella stands that you fill with water or sand to hold up the driver name/number signs in front of each car one the grid.

If he's got any change left maybe he can buy some jazz mags to hand out to those in the stands that feel they're missing out on a bit of t&a.

So, a plastic jug filled with water is a more elegant solution than a beautiful person?

What if the plastic jug was in the shape of a person?

I'm just trying to think, if I was on a grid, and for whatever reason didn't get an opportunity to take a picture with a driver I wanted to...what would be my second choice? Taking a picture next to a signboard held up by a plastic jug, or a picture with a real person holding the driver's grid board.

If we want to go high tech because it's F1, you could have little electronic robots wheel the signs on and off the grid. But would humanoid looking robots be a no no? Like, I don't suppose having sex bots walk the signs out would fly. So a robot would be ok, as long as it isn't too human looking?


Kind of related, why is it ok to stand next to the British Royal Guard to take a picture (and people take pictures and videos blatantly making fun of and taunting these guards), but it's considered "objectifying women" to take a picture with a grid girl who's wearing local cultural attire?

Edit

Marketing and political correctness go hand in hand, unless you're target is a very small demographic. I can't see a way that keeping the girls would have hurt F1 in any way, most likely won't help them either.

I think you should do some looking into how Social Justice effects business revenue. A good place to start is Marvel Comics.

From my experience, most people I know simply want to buy products or be entertained, and not have the businesses involved push a political agenda on them.

 

[petesj26]

So everything before this is a bit tl;Dr for me....

A friend used to date Gordon Shedden's grid girl. She went to every race they did for the whole weekend, travelled with the mechanics, met and guided the VIP's etc etc. She was a part of the team. Team Dynamics ran grid guys one year and the brief Paratroopers team had a para at the front of their car.

Maybe a better idea would have been to ditch the race title sponsor provided girls and introduce car representatives similar to the btcc model? Have a smaller group of involved personnel.

As for the decision to ditch the grid girls? As my mum and dad would say, this is something people who have too little to do with their lives would worry about.

 

[LennyB]

I think you should do some looking into how Social Justice effects business revenue.

Look no further than the tactics of Jesse Jackson

There is no shame with some. I wasn't speaking of a SJW attack though because I don't think that is what is happening with F1 and girls.

 

[2clicks]

Fill what void? They don't do owt!

It's clear that the rest of my latest response went unread. Didn't the article mention, which was repeated multiple times by me and others, that F1 were 'considering replacements'? If they have to so desperately tell the media that they would use children in place of adult women then there is definitely a void to fill.

 

[Johnnypenso]

You put too much value on random exposure. Showing up on an instagram feed doesn't land you a modelling job. Being hired and contracted by a model agency lands you castings and jobs. Jobs like being a grid girl. These grid girls all have agencies, that's how they got there in the first place.

It's science, I'm not sure what you're arguing about. You're in the business of selling your looks. You have an opportunity to expose your looks to hundreds of millions of people. It's now gone. There are other jobs you can and will take but this job no longer exists. You no long have that opportunity to expose yourself to a good portion of the free world and thereby market your marketables directly to this specific audience. You now have less opportunity. Simply math. Whether they can or do get another job, or thousands of jobs is irrelevant. And taking a gig at the local auto show isn't the same as exposure to 1/3 of a billion people. Simple math. This job is gone and the exposure that probably the biggest audience they have even been exposed to, and for some, may ever be exposed to is gone. To argue that's not the case is illogical.

 

[Roo]

Lol whatever, spin it any way you like.

Why not? Everyone else is, youself included.

So, a plastic jug filled with water is a more elegant solution than a beautiful person?

What if the plastic jug was in the shape of a person?

I'm just trying to think, if I was on a grid, and for whatever reason didn't get an opportunity to take a picture with a driver I wanted to...what would be my second choice? Taking a picture next to a signboard held up by a plastic jug, or a picture with a real person holding the driver's grid board.

If we want to go high tech because it's F1, you could have little electronic robots wheel the signs on and off the grid. But would humanoid looking robots be a no no? Like, I don't suppose having sex bots walk the signs out would fly. So a robot would be ok, as long as it isn't too human looking?

Kind of related, why is it ok to stand next to the British Royal Guard to take a picture (and people take pictures and videos blatantly making fun of and taunting these guards), but it's considered "objectifying women" to take a picture with a grid girl who's wearing local cultural attire?

I can't help but think you're reading far too much into @TheCracker's throwaway joke comment.

From my experience, most people I know simply want to buy products or be entertained, and not have the businesses involved push a political agenda on them.

Then vote with your wallet and don't buy those products or watch that entertainment. If it turns out the majority either agree with the politics or don't care, then either a) start your own business and run it the way you want or b) suck it up, buttercup. This appears to be the thinking in the Opinions sub-forum, as much with election results as business decisions.

It's science, I'm not sure what you're arguing about. You're in the business of selling your looks. You have an opportunity to expose your looks to hundreds of millions of people. It's now gone. There are other jobs you can and will take but this job no longer exists. You no long have that opportunity to expose yourself to a good portion of the free world and thereby market your marketables directly to this specific audience. You now have less opportunity. Simply math. Whether they can or do get another job, or thousands of jobs is irrelevant. And taking a gig at the local auto show isn't the same as exposure to 1/3 of a billion people. Simple math. This job is gone and the exposure that probably the biggest audience they have even been exposed to, and for some, may ever be exposed to is gone. To argue that's not the case is illogical.

This is another reason I brought up the Manor team's closing. An entire team of mechanics, engineers, drivers etc. lose the exposure to the top teams of working in F1, but noone mentions it. As soon as grid girls lose the opportunity it's suddenly a big deal. Why?

These women can still be employed by sponsering brands in F1, if they can get the job, just as mechanics etc can still be employed by other teams if they're good enough. The other option is they work in other modelling fields, whilst the mechanics go to other championships.

I'll be blunt here. The way it comes across to me - and prehaps I'm reading this incorrectly - is that big business decisions only become worthy of comment if they disagree with the views of the person commenting. That's why I posted

The best part of this whole non-issue has been seeing the people complaining about snowflakes going full snowflake themselves.

- I was being only slightly tongue in cheek.

At the end of the day, this decision by F1 only affects the women and just like everyone else that gets made redundant, tough. Find another job. I know being made redundant sucks - I've experienced it myself - but you just have to get on with showing how worthy you are of employment to other potential employers. Complain if you want, but it won't help.

Aside from the women involved:

As for the decision to ditch the grid girls? As my mum and dad would say, this is something people who have too little to do with their lives would worry about.

That. This entire thread and the coverage in the wider world encapsulates the saying "a mountain made out of a molehill". Like so many events it's just a conduit to attacking people who don't agree with you. See post #210 in this thread for a perfect example of that.