The big problem with hot guys in commercials

Television commercials featuring men with “ideal” buff bodies are having the most damaging effect on the self esteem of young male viewers, according to new research.

Commercials featuring guys with “ideal” buff bodies have a more damaging effect on the body image of young male viewers than any other media, new Australian research shows.

Today’s young men are subjected to a barrage of images of muscular blokes. They’re shucking their shirts on websites, in newspapers and magazines; popping up on social media feeds; getting top billing for going topless in Hollywood movies; and frequently deployed in advertisements.

This barrage has been blamed for rising levels of body anxiety, eating disorders, steroid abuse and depression among young men, but the new research suggests commercials are the worst offenders in terms of the effect they have on the way men view themselves.

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Researchers from the University of the Sunshine Coast exposed men aged between 17 and 35 to a series of commercials, music video clips and static media pictures, all showing attractive male bodies, and asked the respondents to record how they felt about themselves before and after viewing the images.

The research, published today in the Australian Journal of Psychology, showed that the TV commercials had the most detrimental effect on the 121 study participants.

“The ads have the greatest impact on men’s body dissatisfaction, because men were comparing themselves much more,” lead author Andrew Allen told News Corp.

The compilation of ads shown to the research subjects included TV and YouTube commercials, for products and services that targeted both male consumers and a general audience, and featured men who were shirtless as well as clothed. The primary criteria was that they had to display an ideal male body in some way.

The researchers suggested the “relatability” of the commercials may be the reason why the male viewers had the strongest reaction to them.

The Newsroom star Terry Crews showed off a far-from-average body in advertisements for Old Spice. Picture: YouTube

“(Of) all the mediums, commercials presented the models in a more realistic, less idealised, and less posed manner. There was also a mix of content in the commercials — men posing, exercising, doing everyday activities, and elements of humour. This content may be more relatable to viewers as opposed to still images and music clips which present somewhat of a fantasy for one’s life,” the researchers wrote.

“If so, the increased relatability may have triggered increased social comparison, which in turn resulted in greater body dissatisfaction.”

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One thing the researchers weren’t able to determine was whether the commercials featuring buff men worked for the advertisers.

But research from Sweden last year suggests male consumers can be strongly motivated by the presence of more “manly” men.

The Harvard Business Review reported that Aarhus University researchers looked at what happened when a “tall, athletic-looking” uniformed male employee stood at the entrance to a home furnishings store. They found that when the “physically imposing” man was there, male customers spent an average of $US165, compared to $US92 when he was not, while female shoppers spent an average of $US72 when he was there, and $US97 when he was not.

The Review quoted lead researcher Professor Tobias Otterbring as saying that the employee in question — a former track athlete — could have “activated the classic male competitive instinct”.

“When male shoppers saw him, we suspect, they sensed a rival and responded by signalling their own status: they opened their wallets,” he said.

The effect was even greater for male customers of short stature, he added.

Originally published as The big problem with hot guys in commercials