During NamesCon, the parking company ParkingCrew had a great idea, which was implemented on two levels.
First, they created a mockup of the notorious parking page of the 2000’s, showcasing the Backpack Girl. Anyone could have their photo taken and included into a funny reel.
But a little bit of history, first.
Also known as the eNom Girl, the landing page featured Hannah Steller, a good-looking, blonde college girl with high cheekbones and a backpack.
Photographed by her brother and turned into stock photography, the photo was used in a landing page for domains that were expired and monetized by eNom for their traffic.
The obsession of someone with the Backpack Girl made them order custom portraits from China, to be used as part of an art exhibit.
The eNom Girl has been noticed as far as Nepal, in an local shop’s banner. Moving on with the times, eNom eventually retired the iconic image and we wrote a story about it.
Lastly, a great comic by Adam Koford showcased the legacy of the Backpack girl with a tongue-in-cheek reference to domains.
So what did ParkingCrew do?
They actually reached out to Hannah Steller, now a happily married mother, and invited her to NamesCon. 😀
As part of this fun promotion, ParkingCrew offered the real Backpack Girl the opportunity to be among the throngs of domainers familiar with the legacy of her icon; she was offered a free flight to Vegas and back, free hotel lodging, along with $100 dollars per hour for greeting visitors at the ParkingCrew exhibit.
Unfortunately, Hannah Steller keeps a low profile these days and declined the generous offer. As much as we’re disappointed, we won’t hold it against her. 😀
Kudos to ParkingCrew for trying, though.
To see the fun “Backpack Girl” mockup visit BackpackGirlYourself.com.
