Attention shoppers: The results are in and it turns out that when women browse bras and underwear online, they’re more likely to buy items modeled by curvy brunettes than thinner-bodied blondes, according to data from New York-based lingerie site AdoreMe.com.
The company culled this data from consumer responses to its first national TV spot earlier this year. It ran three separate spots—one featuring blonde models, one featuring brunette models, and a third featuring a single plus-size brunette—and then monitored traffic and sales on the site.
What they discovered is significant: Despite the fact that the commercial featuring the “real”-bodied brunette model cost a tenth of what the other ads did to produce, the 30-second spot quadrupled online sales when compared to the ads featuring blondes—and not just plus size buyers.
What’s more: The ad that performed best overall featured multiple brunette models—none of whom had been photoshopped. “Brunettes overall sell better than blondes,” Adore Me founder Morgan Hermand-Waiche told CNN. “Our customers—and women in general—prefer brunettes when it comes to purchasing lingerie. It’s what we’ve seen.”
So there you have it. When women have a choice to buy intimates modeled on bodies that look more like their own, they take it. We didn’t really need science to tell us that, but it’s always nice to have backup.
Adore Me has revealed that its television ad featuring a plus size model generated more sales than the commercial starring a group of blondes
The New York-based startup used A/B testing, in which consumers are shown different ads in order to measure their preferences
By
Erica Tempesta For Dailymail.com
Published:
18:37 EST, 20 March 2015
| Updated:
20:10 EST, 20 March 2015
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Bigger is better when it comes to selling bras because according to new market research, women are more likely to buy lingerie if it’s modeled by a plus-size woman over a thin blonde.
Betty versus Veronica: Online retailer Adore Me has revealed that new research shows that its television ad starring a plus size brunette sold more lingerie that its commercial featuring a group of blondes
The three-year-old start-up, which sells its lingerie and swimwear through monthly subscriptions, as well as one-off purchases, used a marketing strategy called A/B testing, in which consumers are shown different ads in order to measure what models, poses and settings increase the retailer’s sales.
When Adore Me debuted its first national television campaign last January, the company used the testing method for its three different commercials, which aired on channels such as Bravo, Lifetime and MTV.
One television ad featured a cast of all blonde models, another showcased all brunette models and the third starred one plus-size brunette.
After the company monitored online traffic and sales throughout the month, they came to the -perhaps surprising conclusion – that the 30-second commercial featuring the dark-haired plus-size model generated four times as many sales than the one featuring the blondes.
Making sales: A curvy brunette can be seen modeling a pink lingerie set for one of the brand’s commercials
Foolproof method: The company’s founder Morgan Hermand-Waiche told CNN’s Rachel Crane that he relies on customer research to build his company’s website
Even better news for the thriving company is that the plus size clip only cost one-tenth of the other commercials’ production expenses to make.
The online retailer also learned that its female consumers preferred the commercial that left its models unretouched.
Adore Me didn’t do any digital retouching to the ad featuring multiple brunette models – and that commercial was the one that was favorited by consumers.
A/B testing is an important strategy for the company, which unveils a new collection every month.
Blondes don’t sell: Last year’s research showed that women are far more likely to buy lingerie online if it’s modeled on a brunette over a flaxen haired beauty
Coveted curves: This year’s data revealed that women prefer model to remain digitally untouched
Last year’s marketing research showed that women are far more likely to buy lingerie online if it’s modeled on a brunette over a blonde.
Keeping that information in mind, the company wasn’t surprised when its commercials featuring brunette models fared better than the ones that starred blondes during this year’s round of testing.
‘At the end of the day… it’s [our] customers who choose the model they like [and] the pose they like instead of us imposing on them,’ Mr Hermand-Waiche told CNN’s Rachel Crane.
‘Its really the customer who builds the [Adore Me] website based on what they prefer,’ he noted.
