Though models-the female kind-always have appeared in the Chicago Auto Show, the decades from 1950 to 1970 were the height of political incorrectness.
Though the show’s informal motto was “the car is the star,” manufacturers and exhibitors realized early that women draw men’s attention as much as cars, and thought the two were an unbeatable combination.
Edward L. Cleary, show manager in 1958, wrote in a show program, “There is a pageant (the Motorevue) of new cars with a model of each U.S. make, accompanied by a community beauty queen. Those queens, by the way, come from various neighborhoods and suburbs, which is in line with our policy of civic participation.”
Jack Brickhouse, who worked with Cleary while playing host to a live auto show preview on WGN-TV in the 1950s, laughs. “The models in our day were just as pretty as today. But then again, as I get older the models do look more beautiful.”
But, unlike their predecessors, today’s show models, called narrators or product specialists, don’t just stand around looking good. They are assigned to specific cars and are trained to help sell them.
Don Schmid, corporate identity and display planning manager of Chrysler, says: “(The models’) role has changed over the years. Now we want someone who can demonstrate the features of the car . . . we want people who can interface with an audience. The public is more educated (than in the past). We want a narrator to give a correct answer or direct the consumer to someone who can.”
Schmid, who books narrators for Chrysler, Plymouth, Dodge, Jeep, Eagle and Lamborghini, hires about 40 models each auto-show season from Affiliated Models in Detroit.
Models are auditioned and chosen to match the age and “look” of a car’s typical buyer-of the 40 Chrysler hired this year, eight are men. The manufacturer maintains strict control over who represents the vehicle, what’s said in the script and the model’s attire.
Narrators are given a day of training and take a test drive, so they can answer questions about construction and performance. Narrators then travel the auto-show “circuit,” representing their vehicles at up to 60 shows from September through April.
Tina Cedras, Chrysler’s account representative at Affiliated, says the models “are from all walks of life. We have attorneys, communications students, medical students. There’s a lot of college tuition being paid out there.”
Cedras said most of the models are age 18 to 30. Chrysler hires mostly narrators, who follow a script and conduct demonstrations. They generally are paid $170 to $250 for a six- to eight-hour day.
Product specialists, who have more knowledge, make $255 to $300. “Floor people,” the traditional “point-and-smile” models still hired by some manufacturers, typically make $150 a day.
Affiliated also books models for Lexus, Acura, Honda, Isuzu and others.
Karen O’Keefe represents the Dodge Caravan as a narrator, though she says she functions as a product specialist. At 26, she is a six-year veteran with Caravan, working 85 days a year at auto shows in eight cities. In between, she is a district sales manager for The Limited, a women’s clothier.
“I was chosen for the Caravan, because I’m 6 feet 1-I make it look even more `mini’ and people like that,” says Okeefe, who grew up in Detroit and now lives in Boston. “I’m one of the older models and I have an all-American look, like the young families who buy the mini-van.
“We used to wear long evening gowns, but a lot of companies are getting away from that. Now, I wear a bolero jacket and pants or a blazer and skirt.
“When I first started (six years ago), women didn’t like us. Now people are surprised at how much we know about the cars, like the horsepower-213-and torque. I really try to learn about the product. I’ve not only driven it, but I’ve driven its competitors, too-a lot of the (narrators) do that,” she says.
