At the School of Business at Arizona State University, associate professor Naomi Mandel believes that consumers exposed to plus-size models will actually lower their self-esteem, rather than improve it.
What with the drive to use ‘real women’ in adverts, the industry has somewhat bowed to pressure and has begun to establish campaigns using plus-size models (e.g. Dove’s real women campaign).
Yet a study has been carried out which focuses on the link between model sizes in adverts and the self-esteem of consumers viewing the ads.
“We believe it is unlikely that many brands will gain market share by using heavy models in their ads,” said Naomi Mandel, marketing associate professor in the W. P. Carey School of Business at ASU.
“We found that overweight consumers demonstrated lower self-esteem – and therefore probably less enthusiasm about buying products – after exposure to any size models in ads (versus ads with no models). Also, normal-weight consumers experienced lower self-esteem after exposure to moderately heavy models, such as those in Dove soap’s ‘Real Women’ campaign, than after exposure to moderately thin models.”
Although the study did indeed confirm that looking at extremely thin models can be damaging to womens’ self-esteem, they also found out something surprising.
According to the study, it is the difference between your own body type and the model’s type that is what causes a shift in self-esteem.
Hundreds of students were categorized as having a low, medium and high BMI (body mass index) and then were shown a series of models in adverts.
The students with a low BMI identified positively with both the thin and plus-size models – as they saw themselves similar to the thin models, and as being different to the plus-size ones.
The students with a high BMI saw a decrease in self-esteem when they saw the images, as they identified with the heavy women compared to the thin models.
Those with a medium BMI in fact demonstrated the biggest shift in self-esteem. When showed a moderately thin model, they felt good because they felt they were similar, but when showed a moderately overweight model they worried that they were perhaps more similar to that image.
These were the most influenced by the adverts.
Although this was conducted on hundreds of students, I don’t believe using plus-size models will lower consumers’ self-esteem.
We must bear in mind that this survey was carried out on students, who are probably one of the largest age groups of society to be very impressionable when it comes to body types and images.
I think the plus-size community needs to keep pushing for real women to be used in adverts and campaigns, as it is a step in the right direction to changing society’s belief that you have to be thin to be beautiful.
for so long women have been starving themselves and trying every new diet fad under the sun just to fit in. now we are seeing women who have VISIBLE femininity and people are depressed!?!
get serious!
i love my victoria’s secret as much as the next girl- but at some point you have to acknowledge and admit- the product looks better on a body that wasn’t padded into it! a full grown woman should not look like a pre-pubescent boy. you look at the model and go “oh, pretty girl, nice bra”…put that same ensemble on a WOMAN, and it becomes something much more desirable.
if your self esteem has taken a blow because the girl in the book has t & a… … … eat a burger, or a cookie! and don’t even THINK about feeling guilty about it!!