At its heart this is just another makeover show where people request that the show come in and make their loved one look completely different. What surprised me was how much scorn and derision the hosts heaped on their lucky victim. The hosts had "secret footage" of the person and first spent some time mocking the footage before surprising their target and making fun of what she happened to be wearing for a trip to the zoo. Next they had her come to New York and dress up in some of her clothing so that they could mock and belittle her in person. After the little fashion show they gave her some suggestions on what she should look for in new clothes and sent her out so she could buy new stuff for herself. The hosts could have gone with her to provide advice in person, but then they couldn't have mocked her decisions afterwards.
The recipient of the makeover seemed really happy at the end of things and seemed to really appreciate the help of the hosts despite how unpleasantly they'd treated her. It seemed like some sort of Stockholm Syndrome sort of thing.
Child prostitution in The Sims Online (from Penny Arcade)