Even if you don’t spend inordinate amounts of time on the internet or watching television (and there are plenty who do), you have undoubtedly seen thousands and thousands of beautiful faces used to advertise products and services. From perfume, tennis shoes, and power tools, to airline tickets, car washes, and online classes, the image of an attractive human face is an essential tool for advertisers.
We respond so viscerally to the image of an extraordinarily beautiful or handsome face because of the way we are programmed. Evolutionarily, we are designed to seek out attractive mates. Nancy Etcoff, author of Survival of the Prettiest, highlights some of the traits that we are naturally drawn to when seeking a mate. Women, for example, are often instinctively drawn to males with strong jaws, thick brows, and broad shoulders. Men seek facial symmetry in their partners, as well, but are often attracted to women with full lips and large eyes.
The presence of these attributes suggests increased fertility. Because of the way we are biologically programmed, we want to produce numerous healthy offspring. It makes sense that we want to select physically healthy, attractive mates.
All of these natural proclivities are heightened and manipulated by advertisers in order to connect with you on a visceral level. It may sound creepy, but it works. Beautiful women, in particular, are used to advertise countless products that reach multiple demographics, from low-fat yogurt to luxury cars. Men with unusually handsome and rugged faces are often used to advertise “masculine” products, like razor blades and cologne.
We are bombarded with more print and commercial advertising than ever before. Our brains process a huge amount of information, and many worry about the effects of so much advertising. Especially when advertisers use images of hyper-sexualized faces and bodies, our perceptions of what is normal and what is beautiful changes.
As bizarre and superficial as it may seem, our visceral response to beautiful faces is probably a good thing for our species, because it means we will continue to have offspring. Advertisers use these biologically attractive features to connect with customers on a primal level and get them to buy their product and service.
John Bradley Jackson
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