Selling through the Science of Attraction
Luscious lips. A kissable mouth. A sensuous smile. Advertisers are now exploring the potency of physical attraction to compel consumers towards their products. Recently, Diageo approached the bio-statistician Dr. Kendra Schmid of the University of Nebraska Medical Center, as Diageo looked to perfect their Baileys brand “Listen to your lips” campaign; selecting lips that had the most, well, sex appeal.
Dr. Schmid is uniquely qualified to help having developed cutting edge research on the science of attraction, including identifying the characteristics that identify faces and lips to which we are most attracted. Focusing on certain specific points on the face or the lips, she measures the geometry of the face or lips and rates attractiveness on a scale of one to 10. Recently, her software program was featured in a documentary on the Discovery Channel and on The Oprah Winfrey Show.
Naturally, you might wonder how far our perceptions of attraction can be codified and the extent to which they are culturally, socially or physiologically prescribed. At the recent UNMC Science Cafe, however, Dr. Schmid asserted the accuracy of certain metrics that were found to indicate greater attraction, such as a 2:1 ratio to the width of mouth and its height, and the use of lipstick color tones in a mid-range.
The implications may not be broad-reaching for marketers, but are certainly important when considering who to select to promote your service or product when attraction is a factor. Oh, and in case you were wondering, Monica Bellucci scores a perfect 10 for her lips. And Brad Pitt does indeed have an unusually high score for his facial attractiveness.
Written by Stuart
David Day | Associates
About the Author: Stuart isn't often heard divulging his shady history. This, unfortunately, is not one of those times.