Ping Pong Show

Forrest Gump isn't the only person fond of ping pong balls. I think those were the 2 most repetitive English words I heard this week. As a marketer I can respect leading with a catchy hook. The moment you approach Patpong you are aggressively sought out by mostly men waving sex menus in your face. The most popular is the Ping Pong Show.

The first day you go into the district it is all a bit overwhelming.  You are annoyed by the persistence.  Disgusted by the thought. But curious. The Ping Pong Show approach is the Ripleys Believe It Or Not approach to moving the needle in the sex trade.

There were a lot of business practices I saw during my time that I questioned the effectiveness, but not this one. The Ping Pong Show is a hook that works. It's fun to say. It's memorable.  It's intriguing.  It's safe...I mean no one is asking you to do anything.  You aren't buying a girl. Just watching a show. You might as well check it out, what's the harm? They are going to be doing it anyway, right?

They know this is the mentality behind "Ping Pong Show?" However, they too know that if they can just get you in the door on their turf, get you to have a few drinks and surround you with beautiful women who "love" you that's it's statistically pretty likely that you will try more than the Ping Pong Show.

If Tom, a local tout, stood out on the stoop and asked do you want to buy a girl or yelled a simple "sex for sale" fewer people would participate.  People can enter the door telling themselves and the people around them that they are just here for a couple drinks and entertainment.  That all works until you get inside.

Women it's much like going to a nail salon and getting up-sold on an extra 10 minutes for the foot massage or adding the hot towel. You went in with every intention of sticking to a certain budget, but only 10 minutes in and you are already thinking of how you can keep this from ending. They are making you feel good. You aren't focused on your other problems.  What's a few more dollars? I mean, you are on vacation, don't you deserve it? This person is making you feel relaxed and you are willing to pay more than you would have been to keep it going. 

It's the same experience for the men and the bars know this. (Regardless of their offerings they are all called bars.) As much as men are physical beings most of the men we encountered this week were also seeking something more. They were often hurting and lonely.  It's this mix that has many men saying yes to a Ping Pong Show and walking away having bought a girl. The Ping Pong Show is Patpong's gateway drug if you will.

Talking with the touts.  Photo by Kristen Torres-Toro