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Exploring adolescent girls' identification of beauty types through consumer collages
Mary C. Martin, Cara Okleshen Peters,
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Adolescent girls’
Exploring adolescent girls’ identification of
identification of beauty types beauty types
through consumer collages
391
Mary C. Martin
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Department of Management and Marketing, College of Business and

Leadership, Fort Hays State University, Hays, Kansas, USA, and
Cara Okleshen Peters
Department of Management and Marketing, College of Business, Winthrop
University, Rock Hill, South Carolina, USA

Abstract
Purpose – The objective of this study is to explore adolescent girls’ knowledge about the types of
beauty valued in contemporary American popular and commercial culture.
Design/methodology/approach – Eighty girls ranging from seven to thirteen years old
participated in a card sorting and collage construction exercise using 47 advertisements that
featured models.
Findings – Differences were found among girls according to age. Preferred beauty types were more
complex with age. Furthermore, older girls made more product and brand associations.
Research limitations/implications – The findings indicate that the beauty match-up hypothesis
holds among young girls.
Practical implications – Advertisers may be overlooking the audience of young women by
neglecting to use models who represent their desired type(s) of beauty. They may even be alienating
young girls by using anti-ideals such as nudity and sexiness. Furthermore, advertisers must use
models who convey the appropriate personality traits to create persuasive ads.
Originality/value – This study is important because it expands upon previous work that has
assessed how and why young girls are affected by highly attractive models in ads. However, instead of
conceptualizing physical attractiveness as a simple bipolar continuum from “attractive or pretty” to
“unattractive or ugly”, this work considers the complex, multidimensional properties of beauty.
Keywords Adolescents, Girls, Advertising, Self esteem
Paper type Research paper

Advertising is often taken to task for unintentionally instilling a sense of inadequacy

upon women’s self-concepts. For example, studies have shown that advertising and the
mass media play a part in creating and reinforcing a preoccupation with physical
attractiveness, particularly thinness (Downs and Harrison, 1985; Garner et al., 1980;
Guillen and Barr, 1994; Moore and MacKinnon, 2001; Silverstein et al., 1986). In fact,
today’s Western ideal of beauty is based primarily on thinness, fitness, and
attractiveness (Rudd and Lennon, 2000). According to Hesse-Biber (1996), this “Cult of
Thinness” has become the predominant cultural standard for white, upper-middle Journal of Fashion Marketing and
class, educated females and is beginning to impact teenage, adolescent, and even Management
Vol. 9 No. 4, 2005
pre-adolescent girls. Studies show that girls as young as seven are often dissatisfied pp. 391-406
with their body shapes, want to be thinner, and fear being over weight (Champion and q Emerald Group Publishing Limited
1361-2026
Furnham, 1999). DOI 10.1108/13612020510620777
 JFMM Research in this area has evolved through several stages. One group of studies has
9,4 begun addressing the basic question of how female adults and young girls are affected
by models in ads. In the marketing literature, early studies used social comparison
theory to explain how highly attractive models in advertising may affect female
consumers (Martin and Gentry, 1997; Martin and Kennedy, 1993; Richins, 1991).
The basic premise of these studies is that consumers compare their physical
392 attractiveness to that of models in ads and that these comparisons can have a negative
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effect on self-perceptions and self-esteem. For example, Richins (1991) hypothesized

that exposure to advertising with highly attractive models would temporarily lower
female college students’ self-perceptions of physical attractiveness. Ads from fashion
magazines containing highly attractive models were used, with half of the ads showing
a facial close-up and the other half showing full-body images of models in revealing
sportswear. Richins compared the self-perceptions of physical attractiveness provided
by a group of female college students exposed to ads with highly attractive models and
those provided by a group exposed to ads with no models. No significant differences
were found between the two groups. In a similar study, Martin and Kennedy (1993)
found no support for a lowering of self-perceptions of physical attractiveness in female
pre-adolescents and adolescents.
Outside of marketing, much research exists assessing media and/or advertising
influences on females. Many of these studies also use social comparison as the
theoretical basis. Cash et al. (1983) found contrast effects when female college students
viewed photos of other women. While self-perceptions of physical attractiveness were
lowered, it was lowest for subjects who were exposed to moderately attractive models,
versus those subjects exposed to not attractive women or professionally attractive
models. Thornton and Moore (1993) found self-ratings of attractiveness by men and
women exposed to highly attractive same-sex stimulus persons were lower than those
not so exposed, but were enhanced by exposure to unattractive stimulus persons. Stice
and Shaw (1994) found that exposure to ultra-thin models from advertisements and
magazine pictures produced depression, stress, guilt, shame, insecurity, and body
dissatisfaction in female college students.
Most recently, Posavac et al. (1998) found that undergraduate females report higher
weight concern when exposed to media versus neutral images. Rudd and Lennon
(2000) found that female college students knowingly compare themselves to
supermodels and more attractive peers. Comparisons are often made with more
attractive others, producing lower self-esteem and greater anxiety about appearance.
Furthermore, research has shown that social comparison processes are often based on
comparing the physical appearance of weight-related body parts, such as hips or
thighs, as well as the whole body (Fisher et al., 2002; Tiggemann and McGill, 2004).
Furthermore, social comparison occurs more often among those females who are
already experiencing negative self-feelings (Stiles and Kaplan, 2004).
These studies suggest that there is a “small but consistent negative effect” of media
exposure on body dissatisfaction (Tiggemann and McGill, 2004, p. 38). Moreover, these
studies show that subjects who compare themselves to mediated ideals already have
negative feelings about themselves and the comparison process is likely to lower their
self-esteem levels even further. These generalizations are not only applicable to adult
females. One study to date found similar social comparison processes among
adolescent girls. Schutz et al. (2002) found that social comparison begins in late
 childhood and increases with age. Their sample of 500 girls from grades seven, eight, Adolescent girls’
and ten reported comparing their bodies more with friends and models than family identification of
members. These researchers found that importance of thinness, socio-cultural
internalization, and the extent to which their friends were concerned with weight beauty types
significantly predicted social comparison. The results of the studies discussed above
show that social comparison effects exist among adolescent females and continue as
they age into early adulthood. However, it is possible that after a certain age (i.e. late 393
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adulthood) women become more self assured; yet few studies to date have examined
these age related effects.
A second group of studies has begun to address the question of why females and
young girls are affected by models in ads. Some of this research incorporates the role of
motives for comparison to help answer this question (Wood, 1989; Wood and Taylor,
1991). Specifically, several studies assess the motives of girls when they compare
themselves to models in ads and how these motives may lead to differential effects on
their self-perceptions of physical attractiveness and self-esteem (Martin and Kennedy,
1994; Martin and Gentry, 1997). Martin and Gentry (1997) found that motives do play
an important role in this context; differential effects for changes in self-perceptions of
physical attractiveness, self-perceptions of body image, and self-esteem occurred
depending on which motive was operating at the time of comparison. Consistent with
predictions of social comparison theory, female pre-adolescents’ and adolescents’
self-perceptions and self-esteem were detrimentally affected, particularly when
self-evaluation as a motive occurred (versus self-improvement or self-enhancement).
In her synthesis of the psychology literature, Tiggemann (2002) concludes that
internalization of the thin ideal and the motivation to invest in one’s appearance
combine with social comparison processes to impact body dissatisfaction in females as
young as eight. As females begin to associate their self-worth with self-perceived
attractiveness, appearance becomes a core component of their identity. Females who
find appearance important to the self naturally attend to appearance-related aspects of
media and advertising. This is especially true for young girls who are undergoing
puberty and developing their identity.
A third group of studies has emerged that takes more of a sociological approach to
understanding the impact of the media and advertising on the self-concept. These
studies examine how beauty ideals are culturally encoded and internalized by
consumers. This is a view of beauty as a time and context dependent social
construction. In other words, consumers learn what is culturally attractive through
personal experiences, group experiences, and the mass media (Osborn, 1996). As
argued by Duke (2002), females view advertising as a text menu from which they select
meanings relevant to the social and cultural context. This is especially profound
considering studies show that fashion magazines and their web sites reinforce
unrealistic images of beauty (Labre and Walsh-Childers, 2003) and girls as young as
five and six report reading such magazines and identifying with well-known models
and celebrities (Gilbert, 1998; Moore and MacKinnon, 2001).
This study continues this exploration by examining how young girls learn the
cultural categories of beauty that are prevalent in contemporary American society.
Rather than view beauty as a simple bipolar continuum from “attractive or pretty” to
“unattractive or ugly” as done in previous research, this study expands the scope of
current research by conceptualizing physical attractiveness as multidimensional. If we
 JFMM are to understand advertising’s effects on women, a developmental perspective that
9,4 addresses types of beauty (versus merely the level of beauty) is necessary.

Beauty as multidimensional
The premise of the proposed study is that most people strive to attain a particular ideal
of beauty currently prevalent in their culture, chosen from a pantheon of stylistic
394 possibilities. A beauty ideal is an overall “look” incorporating both physical features
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(e.g. “pouty” lips vs thin lips, large breasts vs small) and a variety of products, services,
and activities (e.g. clothing, cosmetics, hairstyling, tanning salons, leisure activities).
This overall look or beauty ideal, therefore, is complex and multidimensional.
The notion that beauty is a multidimensional construct rather than a simple bipolar
continuum (i.e. attractive-unattractive) is intuitive. Surprisingly, though, this
assumption is not consistent with most existing conceptualizations of attractiveness
in either psychological or marketing research. Abundant research evidence attests to
the marketing consequences of employing “attractive” rather than “unattractive”
spokespersons and models. However, by typically conceptualizing and measuring
beauty on a single continuum from “attractive” to “unattractive”, this research has
ignored the potential effects that diverse ideals of beauty, prevalent in a culture at a
particular moment in time, have on consumers.
Acknowledging this oversight, research has examined the role of different ideals or
types of beauty in influencing consumers’ responses to models in ads. This research
has shown that editors of major women’s fashion magazines and adult females and
males distinguish multiple types of physical attractiveness (Ashmore et al., 1996;
Solomon et al., 1992). Solomon et al. (1992, p. 23) propose the beauty match-up
hypothesis: “perceivers distinguish multiple types of good looks, and that in
advertising, certain beauty ideals are more appropriately paired with specific products
than with others”. For example, a model perceived as “cute” wears casual attire, has a
youthful appearance, is shorter, and wears a smaller dress size than do other models,
and is most commonly associated with Seventeen magazine. In contrast, a “sensual”
model is sexually attractive in a classy, understated way. Magazines targeted at older
readers are more commonly associated with other types of beauty, such as “sensual”,
“sex kitten”, and “trendy”. Further, this research has shown that these different types
of beauty influence consumers’ responses to models in advertising. For example, White
Linen perfume was found to match positively with the use of a “girl-next-door” model,
but match negatively with the use of a “trendy” model. These beauty types are
distinguished from each other by physical and other features (e.g. clothing, pose), as
well as inferences about personal qualities (e.g. traits, lifestyles).
These types of beauty have been identified by editors at major women’s magazines
(Solomon et al., 1992) and female and male college students (Ashmore et al., 1996).
Solomon et al. (1992) also identified particular products and magazines that “match-up”
with types of beauty. Englis et al. (1994) extended this research to assess the overall
prevalence of these different beauty types in fashion magazine advertising and music
videos. The “match-ups” found in this research are shown in Table I.
This perspective of beauty ideals is also reflected in qualitative interviews with
young girls and strongly suggests that they are able to distinguish between types of
beauty as well (Gentry et al., 1996). For example, in that study, a fifth grader said,
“She’s sexy and that’s gross” after looking at a model in an ad.
 Adolescent girls’
Study Beauty type(s) Magazine(s)
identification of
Solomon et al. (1992)a Sex kitten Cosmo (“good” match-up) beauty types
Sensual Vogue (“moderate” match-ups)
Exotic
Classic beauty/feminine
Classic beauty/feminine Glamour (“moderate” match-up) 395
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Cute Seventeen (“moderate” match-up)

b
Englis et al. (1994) Classic beauty/feminine Cosmo Mademoiselle
Exotic Glamour
Trendy Vogue
Trendy Seventeen
Notes: aIn Solomon et al. (1992), match-ups are based on multi-dimensional scaling analysis, not the Table I.
frequency of occurrence of a beauty type in a particular magazine; bIn Englis et al. (1994), match-ups Beauty and magazine
are based on the frequency of occurrence of a beauty type in a particular fashion magazine “Match-UPS”

The cultural relativity of beauty ideals, as well as their fluidity over time, suggests that
answers to the question “what is beautiful?” are culturally constituted as a result of
common socialization experiences. If so, these ideals are at least to some degree taught
via advertising (Duke, 2002; Englis et al., 1994; Osborn, 1996). Thus, crucial questions
are: How do these ideals or types come to be represented or encoded in advertising?
How and when do girls learn what the ideals or types are and where they fit into their
culture’s scheme of “what is beautiful?”
The objective of this study is to explore the knowledge of these culturally defined
types of beauty among adolescent girls. Specifically, through collage construction,
young girls’ knowledge of types of beauty was analyzed to understand better to what
extent and how they think in terms of beauty types or categories. Collages have been
used in consumer research to elicit meanings of certain types of consumption-oriented
experiences, such as nostalgia (Havlena and Holak, 1996) and to design advertising
(Kaufman, 1997).

Methodology
Participants
Girls ranging in age from seven to thirteen were recruited to participate through local
and regional organizations. Girls from three Girl Scout troops, a church youth group,
and girls on the Run, a running and character-building program for young girls,
participated in the study. In return, a monetary donation was made to each
organization. A total of 80 girls participated, of which one was African-American, one
was Hispanic, and one was Asian.

Stimuli
Photos of female professional fashion models, products, and brands were
systematically sampled and extracted from one issue each of recent popular
magazines that target female audiences, including Seventeen, Sassy, YM, Self, Cosmo,
Glamour, Harper’s Bazaar, and Vanity Fair. These publications were chosen because
they represent the top two to three in terms of readership for three categories:
18-24-year-olds (Seventeen, Sassy, YM), 25-34-year-olds (Self, Cosmo, Glamour),
 JFMM and 35-44-year-olds (Harper’s Bazaar and Vanity Fair). Of the total ads extracted from
9,4 these magazines, 30 were randomly selected (ten from each category). From these 30
ads, the partial- or full-body photos of models were removed from the original ads in a
manner that eliminated information about the sources.
In addition to these 30 photos, 17 photographs that were used to “define” the
categories of beauty found in Ashmore et al. (1996) (sexy/not sexy, trendy/not sexy or
396 trendy, and cute/not cute) were used. The intent of including both sets of stimuli was to
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include models from ads (in addition to model book photos as used in Ashmore et al.,
1996) and to update the set to include more recent images of beauty, while not
eliminating the possibility that the types of beauty found in past research were still
intact. These 47 photos were then printed on small cards (approximately
3 inch £ 5 inch) and laminated.

Card sorting and collage construction

In interviews, the participants were given the 47 laminated photos of models. They
were asked to sort the models into categories based on similarity of looks (a “free
sorting” task; see Ashmore et al., 1996). The researcher then recorded the pictures
within the separate piles. After sorting, the girls were asked to choose the picture of the
model that best represented each pile. For example, if a girl put photos into one pile
because the models were all considered “skinny”, the participant would choose the
prototype, the “skinniest” model. The participants then gave a word or phrase to
describe each prototype.
From these prototypes, the girls were asked to choose the picture that is “how you
think you will look when you grow up”, “how you would like to look when you grow
up”, and “how you would not like to look when you grow up”. The collages were
constructed based on the choices for the last three questions; the girls were then asked
to take each photo and create a collage that represents “that person and how she might
live, what she might buy, with whom she might be friends, and anything that
represents her as a person”. After choosing the models, the girls were given tools to
construct their collages. The researcher provided three magazines to be used, YM, Self,
and Harper’s Bazaar, as well as a set of laminated brand names (from the ads the
models were taken from) and descriptive words (those used to describe the types of
beauty found in Solomon et al., 1992), scissors, colored markers, tape, and paper. There
were no constraints, such as item placement or time limit, imposed on the girls. After
completing the collages, the participants were asked to explain each collage.
The interviews were conducted by a research assistant in a girl’s home on a
one-on-one basis. The presence of any parents or siblings was prohibited as it was
thought to potentially inhibit the girls’ responses. The collages were coded in terms of
bases used for categorization of beauty types, preferred/not preferred beauty types,
and product and brand associations. In many cases, the photo chosen for “how you
think you will look when you grow up” and “how you would like to look when you
grow up” were the same, resulting in two, rather than three collages. In total, 194
collages were created and analyzed.
The approach to constructing the collages varied a great deal between subjects.
Some girls were extremely meticulous, leafing through every page of the magazines
before deciding which pictures to cut out. Others did not use the magazines at all and
simply taped the laminated words and ads to the page. There were some problems,
 especially with the younger girls, in recognizing the brand names. The girls were told Adolescent girls’
not to use any brands or words they did not recognize. Because the 47 photos of the
models was a mix of black and white and color, many of the subjects demonstrated a
identification of
preference for the color pictures, namely for those representing who they would like to beauty types
look like, or who they will look like. The girls often felt the black and white pictures
were old-fashioned or out of date.
397
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Categorization of beauty types

The analysis of the collages revealed that young girls do indeed think in terms of
categories of beauty, not merely “pretty” versus “ugly”. Further, certain types of
beauty are more preferred or desirable than others. Differences emerged between ages
however, and the insights revealed through the collage construction task are explained
in light of these age differences. The prevalent themes, according to the photos chosen,
products and brands, and category descriptions, are summarized in Table II.
For all girls, consistent with Ashmore et al. (1996) and Solomon et al. (1992), the
categorization of models into beauty types is based on several factors: physical
features (e.g. hairstyle), pose, and clothing. This differentiation between beauty types,
however, becomes more varied and complex as girls get older. The seven and eight
year olds, for example, differentiated beauty types based on the models’ hair length
and color, clothing (or lack of), and/or pose. Several seven-year-olds used hair length

Age “like to look”,

Group “will look” “not like to look”

7-8 (n ¼ 16)
Modelsa 3, 8, 24 23
Products & brands Very few/inconsistencies; Very few/inconsistencies;
lack of understanding lack of understanding
Category descriptionb “being yourself” “like a boy”
being “regular”, “normal”, With “not very many clothes”
“like a Mom”
“pretty”
9-10 (n ¼ 33)
Modelsa 3, 8, 11, 16 40
Products & brands Selected few (Mickey Unlimited, Selected few (Street Code,
Pantene, Liz Claiborne, Esprit) L.A. Looks)
Category descriptionb Cute (almost all) Sexy
Natural (several) Exotic
Trendy
Girl-next-door
11-13 (n ¼ 31)
Modelsa 3, 4, 12, 17, 24 29, 32, 40
Products & brands Many, varied Many, varied
Category descriptionb Trendy Sexy
Cute Exotic
Notes: aThe photos of models were numbered for the sorting task; those numbers are reported in the Table II.
Table. These photos are shown in Figures 1-3; bCategory descriptions are derived from descriptive Prevalent themes in
words given to the participants and used in the collages, as well as the girls’ own words collages
 JFMM and/or color as the only basis for differentiation. One categorized beauty types by hair
9,4 length and believed she will look like those with “long hair”, while she desired to look
like those with their “hair up” and not like those with “short hair”. The older girls used
the same general dimensions for differentiation, but were more sophisticated in this
respect. They, for example, also considered the type of clothing important to the
categorization of beauty types: “casual” clothing was distinguished from “fancy”
398 clothing in many cases. In addition, the notion of “sexiness”, as conveyed in the models’
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poses, clothing, and attitude, became more apparent in older girls.

Conclusions about potential “match-ups” between beauty types and specific
magazines were difficult to draw, as the prototypes varied as from which type of
magazine they were taken. Specifically, images 8, 12, and 17 were taken from YM,
Sassy, and Seventeen (frequently read by 18-24 year olds), while images 11, 16, and 24
were taken from Self, Cosmo, Glamour (frequently read by 25-34 year olds) and images
3, 4, and 23 were taken from Harper’s Bazaar and Vanity Fair (frequently read by 35-44
year olds). Images 32 and 40 were part of the seventeen photographs that were used to
“define” the categories of beauty found in Ashmore et al. (1996).

Preferred beauty types

The bases used to judge the desirableness of a beauty type, as reflected in the collages
and the participants’ descriptions of each category, also differed according to the girls’
ages. As with the categorization of beauty types, the girls’ preferences got more
complex and varied as they got older. For the seven and eight year olds, their
perceptions of how they will look and how they desire to look when they get older
focused on three characteristics: being “normal” or “regular”, being “yourself”, and
being “pretty”. Their perceptions of how they do not want to look focused on avoiding
being “like a boy” and wearing “not very many clothes”. Because of their lack of
understanding of what some of the words meant, the young girls did not use the beauty
type descriptors given to them for collage construction.
The older girls, on the other hand, varied more in what they perceive they will
look like, desire to look like, and desire not to look like, as displayed in their choices
of category prototypes as well as descriptors used. Models in “casual” or
“comfortable” clothing and who enjoy “going out with friends” were desirable.
“Fancy” clothing and “sexy” models who displayed much nudity were not desirable.
It is interesting to note that these differences across ages seem mirror changes in
adolescent conformity, from “be yourself” in the young group, to the “cool”, “smart”,
and “regular” of the middle group, and then to the “pretty”, “casual”, and “social” of
the oldest group. The prototype choices of what the girls perceive they will look
like, desire to look like, and desire not to look like are shown in Figures 1-3 for each
age category (7-8, 9-10, 11-13). The emphasis on “being social” is shown in an older
girl’s collage in Figure 4.
The use of personality inferences to describe and distinguish beauty types was
more prevalent in the older girls. In addition, it is important to note that most girls still
thought in terms of “pretty” versus “ugly”. They distinguished between types of
beauty using personality characteristics, but also decided whether they thought that
category was “pretty” or “ugly”. This suggests that both conceptualizations of beauty
– the unidimensional (pretty versus ugly) and the multidimensional (various beauty
types) – must be considered.
 Adolescent girls’
identification of
beauty types

399
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Figure 1.
“What I will look like/want
to look like” versus “What
I do not want to look like”
for 7-8-year-olds

This “pretty” versus “ugly” distinction of beauty types was most prevalent in the older
girls. In fact, their descriptions of the models perceived as pretty and ugly were quite
colorful in some cases. Pretty models are perceived as “outgoing”, “popular”, “fun to
hang with”, “happy”, “fun”, “casual”, “special”, and “pleasant”, for example. Ugly
models, on the other hand, are perceived as “nasty”, “scary”, “wild”, “exotic”, and “not
happy” and engaging in drinking, smoking, drugs, and steroids.
The finding that the girls ascribe these positive personality traits to the models may
derive from the fact that they are like to use models in ads as an aspirational reference
group (Richins, 1991). For example, Martin and Kennedy (1994) found that female
pre-adolescents and adolescents have aspirations to be models. In addition, girls,
versus boys, are much more likely to be affected given the pervasiveness of
attractiveness-related images and messages targeted to them and the more culturally
 JFMM
9,4

400
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Figure 2.
“What I will look like/want
to look like” versus “what I
do not want to look like”
for 9-10-year-olds

salient ideal of attractiveness for females. In fact, Martin et al. (1999) found girls rated
models as warmer, happier, friendlier, more outgoing, and smarter than boys did.
Examples of an eleven-year-olds collages that demonstrate the use of personality traits
and “pretty” versus “ugly” is shown in Figure 5.

Brand and product associations

The girls varied as to the brand and product associations they made with respect to the
types of beauty. While some brands and products were chosen more frequently, this
may have been due to the girls’ familiarity with them. In general, the use of brands and
products in the girls’ collage constructions increased, as they got older. In particular,
 Adolescent girls’
identification of
beauty types

401
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Figure 3.
“What I will look like/want
to look like” versus “what I
do not want to look like”
for 11-13-year-olds

the eleven to thirteen year olds used many brands and products in their collages. Most
of these brands and products were cosmetic (e.g. make-up, fingernail polish), likely due
to the use of fashion magazines. The important conclusion is that girls’ brand and
product associations are not yet formed at younger ages, but as they move in to the
teen years, they form quickly. An example of a 12 year old girl’s collage that
demonstrates the use of brands and products is shown in Figure 4.

Discussion
Solomon et al. (1992, p. 24), in their discussion of the beauty match-up hypothesis, point
out that “a persuasive ad presents a good gestalt: a model whose type of beauty and
associated image matches the product with which it is paired will provide a coherent
message, which, if consistent with the consumers’ desired self-image, may enhance
acceptance of the advertisement”. Combined with findings of Englis et al. (1994) who
 JFMM
9,4

402
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Figure 4.
The extensive use of
brands and products and
the social emphasis by
older girls

Figure 5.
The use of personality
traits and “pretty” versus
“ugly” distinction

found that certain types of beauty (girl-next-door, sex kitten, and cute) are infrequently
represented in fashion magazines, this study suggests that advertisers may be
overlooking the audience young women by neglecting to use models who represent
their desired type(s) of beauty. Not only may advertisers may be neglecting this
audience, they may be alienating young girls by using “anti-ideals” (Englis et al., 1994,
p. 60) such as nudity and sexiness.
Persuasiveness of an ad also derives from the girls’ attribution of positive
personality traits to the models. Research concerning consumers’ positive inferences
about physically-attractive endorsers has shown that this attribution of
“socially-desirable traits” enhances models’ persuasiveness (Brumbaugh, 1993;
Maddux and Rogers, 1980). This notion is consistent with the “what is beautiful is
good” stereotype (Dion, 1986; Dion et al., 1972) “whereby physically attractive
individuals are believed to possess a wide variety of positive personal qualities”
(Eagly et al., 1991, p. 109), otherwise known as a “halo effect”. These socially
desirable traits may include social competence, adjustment, potency, intellectual
competence, integrity, and a concern for others (Eagly et al., 1991). Brumbaugh
(1993) found that personality inferences concerning a physically attractive endorser
positively affected consumers’ attitudes toward the product. For example, models
 who were perceived as capable and poised received positive evaluations of their Adolescent girls’
clothing from consumers. Stephens et al. (1994) proposed that the assignment of identification of
socially-desirable traits to endorsers in ads may be more common in women who
are dissatisfied with their bodies than women who are satisfied with their bodies. beauty types
For example, Mintz and Betz (1988) found that those female college students more
likely to be dissatisfied with their bodies tended to agree with “what is beautiful is
good” stereotypes (e.g. “attractive people are more poised and outgoing”). Thus, 403
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advertisers must use models who convey the appropriate personality traits to
ensure a good “match-up” to create persuasive ads.
In addition, persuasiveness of an ad would be achieved with repetitive use of an
appropriate beauty “match-up” between the model and product. Repetition would be
necessary for internalization of this “match-up” to occur. The inability to draw
conclusions about the appropriate “match-ups” between the beauty types and
magazines in this study demonstrates that young girls’ “match-ups” are likely not yet
formed, probably due to lack of exposure to the magazines. Advertisers need to realize,
however, that these “match-ups” will form as girls get older and are exposed to
magazines, but only through advertising repetition, in appropriate magazines, and at
the appropriate time.
While persuasiveness is important for advertisers, they should balance the
persuasiveness of ads against the potential to harm this audience. Prior research has
shown that advertising using highly attractive models has the potential to harm young
women’s self-concepts. Perhaps combining the ideal beauty type with a high level of
attractiveness will encourage girls to use particular motives for comparison, such as
self-improvement, that have the potential to do good rather than harm. As Martin and
Gentry (1997) suggest, when self-improvement is the primary motive for comparison,
self-perceptions of physical attractiveness may temporarily rise in anticipation of an
improvement because the comparisons with advertising models are inspiring rather
than threatening. When a girl is inspired to improve her physical attractiveness,
feelings of self-esteem are likely to be enhanced as well in anticipation of an
improvement. Therefore, future research should consider ideal beauty types when
assessing the effects of various motives for comparison.
This study’s results also suggest that today’s youth are more mature, media-savvy,
and culturally experienced than past generations. The girls in the study who ranged in
age from nine to thirteen had clearly defined conceptions of the models in the
advertisements. The ability of these young females to read the cultural nuances of
advertising (i.e. exotic or sexy) was quite developed. In fact, it is possible that even by
age seven (the youngest respondents in this study) females are already relying on the
advertising culture in making judgments. This possible sample selection bias should
be addressed by future research that examines at what age young girls begin to be
impacted by advertising.
In general, this study has begun to help us understand better to what extent and
how young girls think in terms of beauty types or categories. However, researchers
have more work to do before they answer adequately the effects of advertising on
women and young girls. The continuation of a developmental perspective that
addresses types of beauty as well as level of beauty, in addition to brand and product
associations, is encouraged. These “beauty match-ups” will then help advertisers
confidently target young girls, at a specific time in their lives, appropriately.
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