Beauty in the Eye of the Beholder: The Effect of Retouching Level Disclaimer on Advertisement Evaluations

초록

While the impact of digitally retouched images of models in advertisements on ad effectiveness has been widely investigated, findings remain inconclusive. Across two experimental studies, we find that the provision of a retouching disclaimer is associated with consumers having a lower attitude toward the brand and purchase intention at high levels of retouching. Our findings are also supportive of similarity-attraction theory in that we demonstrate that retouching levels and perceived homophily affect advertisement evaluations based on the viewer's physical attractiveness and relatability with the model. In essence, the extent to which individuals are similar to the spokesperson is related to the effectiveness of retouching disclaimers. Our findings provide insights for practitioners and policymakers who are interested in providing retouching disclaimers to better inform consumers.

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