H
as the time come for models of more natural body proportions to be the face of ad campaigns? Technically this wasn’t the outcome of recent research; as it was more concerned with the reaction of women to models looks. Although, these new studies do infer a definite shift in the female population’s reaction to beautiful women selling products. This new research, documented in The Science daily, seems to imply that the time of beautiful, skinny models and celebrities being effective methods of advertising products is over.
According to research conducted by WarwickBusiness School these ‘beauties’ actually cause women to set up a defensive coping mechanism in which they supposedly undermine the model/celebrity and therefore think negatively towards the brand they are advertising. In contrast, positive reactions to brands seem to occur when the models are subtly associated with the brands or more natural and not obviously perfect.
This study entitled “Defensive reactions to slim female images in advertising: The moderating role of mode of exposure” published in Organisational Behaviour and Human Decision Processes could have far reaching implications for the marketing industry and how they use models and celebrities to sell their products. The old belief that skinny models, like Kate Moss, in fact encourage women to buy their brands and products is outdated. They (namely she) make us feel bad about ourselves and therefore we aren’t going to buy a product from someone who made us feel large, unattractive or all of the above; idealised celebrity or not. Well I salute the new study. It is high time someone stated that advertising that relies on belittling its audience in order to sell products is flawed.
To put the research bluntly, if advertisers use large close-ups, women loathe it, but if they place the model in a less prominent position, female shoppers respond well. As Dr Tamara Ansons, Assistant Professor at Warwick Business School, said: “To successfully use idealised images in marketing communications, they should be presented subtly.We found that the way the picture of the perfectly shaped model was used was very important in determining a positive or negative effect on women’s self-perception.” Basically, a pretty model triggers a coping mechanism in women – scorn –so degenerating these blatantly idealised women helps them feel better about their own looks.
So what does this mean for the advertising agencies? Have they got it wrong and need to admit defeat, I my opinion, hell yes! However, what I gleaned from the public reaction is that these campaigns, even though selling products for women, are aimed at the men. These perfect models and celebrities are meant to attract the male customer to buy the products for their wives and partners. Sneaky doesn’t quite cover it. While women are definitely turned off by the ‘nauseating’ ad campaigns, especially the perfume ads, it seems men are swayed by them. The solution: cover your partners eyes when these attractive women sashay onto your screens, snort loudly in indignation as they caress the empty glass bottle (…Scarlett Johnson), or better yet return the products they buy you!
It seems that women aren’t perturbed by the adverts advances; Mrs B, an astute blogger, claimed that her husband has the sense to know to get her favourite perfume, listening to what she likes and not what some advert tells him. Sooner or later these campaigns will realise that their customer market is the women, not their other half. We do not respond well to being undermined by a 2D image especially from the comfort of our sofas.
Although the research doesn’t seem to be that advanced, and the suggestions are rather tedious in its generalisations, the study is condemnable and fitting for the modern society and current female body image. It has definitely changed over the last couple of years and skinny is most certainly out. Skinny models no longer look good on the catwalk, in the magazines, or selling the latest beauty product. I’m not suggesting we are reverting back to a time when the hourglass figure of Marilyn Monroe was the lusted after physique, we still have to put up with the airbrushed celebrities with their digitally enhanced features- Rosie Huntington-Whiteleyhere’s looking at your Marks and Spencer’s lingerie campaign- but media coverage boosting the more subtly beautiful figure is a step in the right direction.