Does the type of model in advertising have effects on the purchase intention of skincare products?

: the possible mediating role of social comparison and facial appearance’s self-satisfaction

Abstract

Objectives - This work, focused on the skincare realm, aims at investigating the relationship between the model’s level of idealization in an advertising and the purchase intention for the sponsored product, through the mediators of social comparison and facial appearance’s self-satisfaction.Methodology – Firstly, in-depth interviews have been conducted to further investigate how the process of comparison with models happens in females. Secondly, a questionnaire has been created to quantitatively test all the hypotheses posed.Key results – Young females are confirmed to be engaging in social comparison processes with the models shown in advertising and it has been proven that the model’s level of idealization impacts the direction of the comparison. The direction of the comparison and the type of model chosen, in turn, negatively impact the facial appearance’s self-satisfaction of the young females. On the other side, nor the type of the model chosen by the brand, nor the comparison’s direction and neither the level of the facial appearance’s self-satisfaction resulted to have an impact on purchase intention.Conclusion – This work’s results show that a single choice of a model reflecting realistic (compared to idealized) standards of beauty is not enough to impact purchase intention. The good achievements obtained by inclusive brands should be probably looked in the good brand’s reputation, deriving from its inclusiveness, and not in the single act of the comparison with the model per se. Furthermore, brands should consider their ethical role, given the impact that ads are proved to have in building consumer’s self-esteem.

Date of Award	18 Oct 2021
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	Universidade Católica Portuguesa
Supervisor	Daniel Fernandes (Supervisor)