Female images in advertising: The implications of social comparison for marketing

K Hough, M Bruce and M Hogg

Does advertising create insecurities and dissatisfaction with the self? This exploratory study investigated how British women consumers, aged 24-50, responded to a range of ideal images presented in fashion magazines.

Female images in advertising: the implications of social comparison for marketing

Margaret K Hogg, Margaret Bruce and Kerry Hough

Does advertising create insecurities and dissatisfaction with the self? This exploratory study investigated how British women consumers, aged 24-50, responded to a range of ideal images presented in fashion magazines. Congruent with previous research, British women compared themselves with idealised advertising images. However, consumers actively and selectively interpreted the meanings of idealised images represented in advertising stimuli. Although some women raised their standards of comparisons and lowered their own self-assessments after viewing the ideal images, there was...

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