Seventy per cent of women are turned off by thin models in advertisements, study shows

Thin is no longer as in as it once was

NEW YORK: Advertising pros! Pause before you cast a thin model in your next advertisement feature. Not all women will buy products because the models in the advertisements are thin, according to a study published by Atlantic Marketing Journal. 

In fact, the study shows that using thin models can alienate up to 70 per cent of an advertiser's target market.

The current 'thin sells' fixation is a gross oversimplification of how women respond to advertising, the study said.

"We need to look at the target market, and we also have to look at the product category," said study co-author James Roberts, professor of marketing at the Baylor University in the US.

"For some product categories, 'thin' is probably going to do better. For others, it very well may be that an average-size model may sell better than a thin model. It just may be a good business decision," James noted.

The study involved a diverse group of 239 women.

To conduct the study, the researchers had to determine which of the women surveyed internalised the "thin ideal".

James said, "It was our belief that women who ascribed to the 'thin ideal' would be more receptive to the thinner models," James said.

Of those surveyed, 25 per cent disagreed with the "thin ideal" and 45 per cent did not fully ascribe to it.

James added, "For those who did not ascribe to the thin ideal, model size did not play a part in ad effectiveness."