Seeing thin models also made college-age women far more likely to turn down a snack pack of Oreocookies offered as thanks for their participation in the study, or to opt for a reduced-fat version. Womenwho had just seen thin models were nearly four times more likely to say no to Oreos than women whohadn't, and 42% more likely to opt for reduced-fat cookies if they did indulge.Women in a sample of 194 college students aged 18-24 expressed more negative feelings about theirsexual attractiveness, weight and physical condition after seeing thin models than before. So-called highself-monitoring women, or those more concerned about what others think of their appearance, were themost negatively affected by seeing the thin models in the study.
More likely to buy
The professors are still preparing a written report on results from a second phase of the research, whichfound that despite the negative effect on their body image, women preferred ads showing thin models andsaid they were more likely to buy products featured in those ads than in ones showing "regular-sizemodels," said Jeremy Kees, a business professor at Villanova.Karen Becker-Olsen, a business professor at the College of New Jersey, also has been conducting theresearch. She couldn't be reached for comment by deadline."The really interesting result we're seeing across multiple studies is that these thin models make womenfeel bad, but they like it," Mr. Kees said. "They have higher evaluation of the brands. With the moreregular-size models, they don't feel bad. Their body image doesn't change. But in terms of evaluations of the brands, those are actually lower."Mr. Kees acknowledged the findings create something of a quandary for marketers, who might have apositive effect on young women's self-esteem by showing more typical women in ads, but suffer in themarketplace as a result."I'd tend to be cautious about using models in advertising that wouldn't maximize the attitudes andevaluations of the advertising and the brands," he said. "Certainly [Dove is] getting a lot of publicity, andit's a great, innovative campaign. But in terms of the bottom line of how that might be impacting ...purchase behavior, I'm not sure."
Appetite suppressant
Mr. Kees said the professors landed on the Oreo tactic, in which study participants didn't know their post-ad-exposure cookie-eating would be monitored, as a way of studying real behavioral impact in additionto the usual survey responses regarding ads.
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