Effect of Gender and Celebrity Status of Models in Printed Advertisements Promoting Physical Activity

Abstract

Public health organizations have embarked on various campaigns to increase the level of physical activity in the population. The aim of this study is to examine whether printed advertisements promoting physical activity can be made more effective by manipulating the model used in advertisements. Two experiments were conducted. The aim of the first experiment was to examine whether the gender of the model affects the effectiveness of the advertisement. Seventy-five respondents were randomly split into a control group featuring no model, experimental group 1 featuring a female model, and experimental group 2 featuring a male model. The study found that while respondents spend more time looking at advertisements with models, male respondents in the male model group reported an intent to participate in higher levels of physical activity compared with the other 2 groups. The aim of the second experiment was to examine whether the celebrity status of the model affects the effectiveness of the advertisement. Fifty-nine respondents were randomly split either into a group featuring a sports celebrity or an unknown athlete. The results show that while the sports celebrity was more attractive, it was respondents in the noncelebrity group that reported an intent to participate in higher levels of physical activity. The findings from this study suggest that noncelebrity male models in printed advertisements promoting physical activity are more effective.