Real Women Don’t Like Curves In Ads, Study Says

 ABC News on Campus reporter Toby Phillips blogs: 
Advertising featuring plus-size models or so-called "real women," actually may turn female customers away from the products the ads are supposed to sell, according to a study out of Arizona State University.
Researchers looked at the effects of using ads featuring female models on female customers, according to Naomi Mandel an associate professor in the W.P. Carey School of Business at ASU. Mandel collaborated with researchers from the University of Cologne in Germany and Erasmus University in the Netherlands. 
The research team asked nearly 600 female undergraduate students to reveal their body mass index (BMI). The women were then shown various ads — some with and some without models. The women were then asked to rank the ads’ effectiveness. Instead of identifying positively with the heavier models, bigger women were actually turned off by the ads with models and called those ads ineffective, the researchers found. So companies using ads with "normal" models may be doing themselves a disservice.  
The researchers examined the popular idea that looking at extremely thin models can negatively affect consumers' self-esteem and possibly even lead to eating disorders in young girls. What they found was that extremely thin models aren't what most of the women were paying attention to. 
"…We found that overweight consumers feel worse about themselves when looking at any models (compared to a no-model control ad), because they see the similarities between themselves and the heavy models, and they see the differences between themselves and the thin models — either way, it reminds them of the fact that they're heavy," Mandel told ABCNews.com.       In the meantime, "underweight consumers feel better about themselves when looking at any models (compared to a no-model control ad), because this reminds them of the fact that they're thin," Mandel said.      One of the most popular campaigns featuring plus-size or "normal" models is the Dove "Real Women" Campaign. Dove's ads feature non-traditional women in their underwear or nude in the hopes that female customers will identify with the models. But, according to the study, reminding these women that they are bigger than traditional models just re-enforces a negative self image. 
Despite the findings about ads with heavier models, Dove sticks by its campaign.
"We are confident that our approach has been successful. Over the past several years, women globally have been overwhelmingly supportive of our commitment to show realistic and attainable images of beauty," wrote Stacie Bright, a communications manager with Dove. 
"Dove has conducted a wealth of research to raise awareness about the issue of self-esteem…," Bright added.    Mandel said that she hopes to work with Dove in the future to do more research about body image in advertising. 
The study can be found in the April edition of the Journal of Consumer Research.