Abstract

In this research, we identify health-based weight stereotypes in advertising and demonstrate that they can perpetuate unhealthy outcomes within overweight populations. We show that advertisements featuring thin models and healthy (versus unhealthy) products lead to greater product–model fit, which leads consumers to view the advertisements more favorably. In contrast, for advertisements featuring overweight models and unhealthy (versus healthy) products, only overweight identifiers perceive higher levels of product–model fit leading to more favorable evaluations, perpetuating unhealthy consumption behaviors. In light of this concerning finding, we develop an actionable advertising strategy that better frames advertisements featuring overweight models to increase overweight consumers’ likelihood of purchasing healthy products.

摘要

在这项研究中，我们确定了广告中基于健康的体重定型观念，并证明它们可以使超重人群中的健康状况长期存在。我们发现，以瘦身模型和健康（相对于不健康）产品为特色的广告可带来更大的产品模型契合度，从而使消费者对广告的观看更为满意。相比之下，对于具有超重模型和不健康（相对于健康）产品的广告，只有超重标识符才能感知到较高的产品模型匹配度，从而导致更有利的评估，从而使不健康的消费行为长期存在。鉴于这一发现，我们开发了一种可行的广告策略，可以更好地设计具有超重模型的广告，以增加超重消费者购买健康产品的可能性。