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, Thế Giới Di Động, 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, Đinh Mạnh Hà, was fined VNĐ900,000 by Hà Nội 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 His driver’s licence was revoked for two months.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, Hà confessed to the violations.

The truck, which sported a Thế Giới Di Động logo, was followed by a group of motorbikes, attracting public attention.

The mobile phone retailer had been holding a PR event on Nguyễn Khánh Toàn Street on that day.

Tô Văn Đông, director of the Hà Nội Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, said the company had conducted the PR stunt without the department’s permission and would be fined VNĐ6 million (US$274) for violations.

Other companies have met the same fate. In May, a restaurant in Cầu Giấy District was fined VNĐ40 million (US$1,700) for using PR girls in bikinis to serve beer and food to guests.

In August, the Hà Nội-based Trần Anh electronics store held promotions that featured young women in bikinis, welcoming visitors and introducing air-conditioning products.VNS