Researchers at University of Georgia, Temple University, and Stockton University showed men and women, aged 18 through 40 years, a photo of a man about age 30 sitting on a set of stairs holding a thermos bottle while gazing at it. Accompanying the photo was an endorsement of the thermos bottle by the man. For half the number of study participants, the man was wearing a shirt. For the other half, he was not, showing him to have a firm, highly muscular torso. All the participants were asked how likely they’d be to purchase the thermos bottle.
Among the male study participants, there was no real difference in average purchase intentions between the two groups. Among the females, those seeing the unshirted model were notably less likely to express intentions to buy the bottle. Along with this, among the women, the model missing the shirt was associated with decreased trustworthiness. Statistical analyses indicated the lowered trust explained much of the decrease in purchase intentions. A second study by the researchers found similar results when the question concerned not purchase of just a thermos bottle, but rather a general, “purchase a product he recommends.”
The cause-and-effect between trustworthiness and buying intention relates to women’s preference, often subconscious and arguably evolutionarily-determined, for longer-term relationships over flings. Men showing off their muscles could be seen as highly narcissistic, and the self-centered constitute inferior partners. A study at TBS Business School in France concluded that a man’s attractiveness to women increases when he embraces pro-environmental practices, demonstrating his interest in sacrificing for others. From the other perspective, men in long-term relationships were more likely to express socially conscientious beliefs than are those who were not in such relationships.
Coming back to the shirtless, since the muscle show negatively influenced women and had minimal effect on men, it’s best to avoid naked male torsos in ads designed to persuade shoppers. There are likely exceptions, such as in ads targeted to men which illustrate the effectiveness of a fitness program.
Still, even here there could be limitations. Many studies say that a skinny attractive female model negatively influences female shoppers more than does a reasonably slim model. A highly ripped male model might have a parallel effect on men. Set aspirational, but realistic, goals for shoppers.
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