You probably have the feeling that in cosmetic product ads you are always seeing the same close-up of the same girl: young, blonde, slightly smiling, pretty, and with fair skin. It’s not your imagination: a new Canva study shows visual evidence that all brands are betting on the same face type.
It is evident that advertisements are always carried out by attractive people who can embody the ideal of beauty of the moment, and much more in a sector such as cosmetics and beauty, which sells, precisely, promises of beauty. But still it is surprising to discover the degree of similarity between the faces of the different campaigns of the big brands.
The study was carried out by merging the faces of different beauty campaigns of a certain brand to find its “typical face”. Then the “typical faces” of 10 major firms, from L’Oreal to Maybelline, were placed side by side. Just look at the image to realize that most of the physical features are repeated across all brands.
As explained from Canva: “The facial structure, the shape of the lips and eyes, the curvature and thickness of the eyebrows and the width of the nose were surprisingly similar. High cheekbones and pronounced jaws were also a very popular choice in this category. specifically, and the pink and full lips are another identity feature of beauty ads. ”
The models also tended to be very young, with perfect skin and attractive according to the canons of the moment, something that, in any case, was to be expected.
It is clear that when all brands bet on the same features it is because it works, no matter how constant criticism of the lack of diversity in advertising has been. In this scenario, some firms have made the defense of diversity their banner, such as the case of Dove, who achieved a lot of repercussion by choosing women who were not models for their campaigns. But beyond the undoubted positive impact on their brand image, there are many studies that argue that the physical attractiveness of models positively influences the perception of advertisements