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Journal of Undergraduate Research

Keywords

attractive advertising, underweight models, purchase intention, food products

College

Family, Home, and Social Sciences

Department

Psychology

Abstract

The world is inundated with images of highly attractive and underweight models (e.g. Joseph 1982). These models are commonly seen in many types of advertising, endorsing every product imaginable. Thin models create a standard of beauty that many females strive to emulate (e.g. Hebl & Heatherton, 1998). Although the practice of using underweight models is very common, there has been little research to validate its use. Advertising research during recent years has focused on the effectiveness of endorsers (e.g. Ohanian, 1991), but little research has been done to evaluate the relationship between endorser weight and purchase intent. These thoughts lead to the questions, “Is it preferable and more effective to use underweight models in product advertising? And, are there situations where a normal or overweight spokesperson would lend a more persuasive endorsement, and if so, for what types of products?” These questions are the inspiration for this research project.

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