Effects of involvement and communicators' level of physical attractiveness in magazine advertising

The use of physically attractive models in advertising is a convention of the advertising profession. While there is an abundance of empirical research in the social-psychological literature that supports the efficacy of the physical attractiveness phenomenon, there is surprisingly little empirical evidence in advertising studies that demonstrates the effectiveness of using physically attractive models in advertising. This study represents two inquiries. The first is an attempt to resolve the equivocal nature of findings in previous studies investigating the effectiveness of using physically attractive models. This is approached by reviewing previous studies in the context of information processing theory, particularly the work of Greenwald and Leavitt (1984, 1985), It is shown how information processing theory offers a possible explanation for the results of previous studies. The second inquiry is in the form of a experimental, laboratory study. A 2 x 4 factorial design was used. Student subjects were randomized into one of eight cells representing two levels of involvement and three levels of physical attractiveness, plus a control (no photo) condition. The experimental advertisement was shown in the context of a mock-up magazine. Photographs of male and female models were paired according to pre-judged levels of physical attractiveness. The major hypothesis regarding a physical attractiveness effect under conditions of low involvement was supported only by directional evidence on an affective measure. No physical attractiveness effect was hypothesized or found using cognitive or conative measures. It is possible that the experimental design did not allow for involvement conditions low enough to generate the expected results.