

How A Pretty Face Can Push Visitors Away - bensummers
http://www.grokdotcom.com/2007/10/04/how-a-pretty-face-can-push-visitors-away/

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jwilliams
What I found strange -- The heatmap seemed to go from "eye to product" in the
left heatmap.

However, on the right heatmap there wasn't any significant distinction in the
heatmap at all. (I presume the heatmap is a differential, therefore it's a net
on that one map rather than an absolute difference between the two).

Either way, from the explanation I'd have still expected the right heatmap to
focus on the eye-contact of the model? Whereas the actual example seem to
suggest when the model is looking directly at us we somewhat ignore it?

Edit: Oh ok. For some reason, the non-linkjacked article _does_ have a more
significant heatmap around the eye contact... I wonder why this article has a
different map? have they modified it?
<http://www.bunnyfoot.com/articles/not_focus_groups.htm>

See <http://www.bunnyfoot.com/img/sun4.jpg> vs [http://www.grokdotcom.com/wp-
content/uploads/Bryan/heatmap_s...](http://www.grokdotcom.com/wp-
content/uploads/Bryan/heatmap_sunsilk.png) (right map)

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sili
Coincidentally, what a great way to protect your content from linkjacking, a
la Digg. Post the article with intentionally wrong content and than fix it
afterwards.

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growt
The first example in the article would push me away, but for a different
reason: Every site that uses Stockphotography so ovious and in such a huge
format is most likely scam of some sort. It's like the blinking banners of old
times.

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ryanwaggoner
Yes, using a stock photograph in your site design means that you're running a
scam. Honest folk take their own advertising photographs.

Give me a break.

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potatolicious
No, it means you're trying way too hard to convince me using unrelated
smokescreens, and oftentimes borders on deception.

How many times have you seen, on a support page or whatnot, a picture of a
smiling call center guy with a headset? It's probably _the_ most common usage
of a stock photo.

But that isn't _your_ support guy, in fact a lot of these places have the
founders answering their own phones - so why pretend to be a big company when
you are not?

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ryanwaggoner
I'm not saying you should pretend to be a bigger company, but there's a huge
gap between pretending to be bigger and more professional than you are and
running a scam.

~~~
potatolicious
I didn't say scam - but it does come off as dishonest and misleading. If you
have a smiling support guy on staff, yeah, by all means, put his photo up on
your support page - I appreciate little human gestures like that. But stock
photography in its various common internet forms is just laziness.

~~~
profgubler
I wouldn't call it laziness. It is often being frugal. You would be surprised
at the number of large companies that use stock photos as well. I think you
would also be surprised at the amount of stock photography that you have not
idea is stock photography, because the designer either manipulated the image
or the chose a good photo for the purpose of the page.

I think we are limiting ourselves here in how stock photography can be used.

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kingkawn
I wonder if creating an association with a pretty face is longer lasting if
he/she is looking right at you, so that even though the initial focus on the
product is weaker, the longer lasting association of beauty and the product
pay-off more.

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mikecuesta
I think that's the whole point - that you get too caught up into the pretty
face and you focus less on the product which renders your ad/image
ineffective.

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kingkawn
What I meant was that yes, the initial product focus is reduced, but there may
be a longer lasting and subtler association of the product with the physical
attractiveness, which in the end may be more valuable.

In other words; I don't necessarily believe that the audience focusing more
directly on the product actually sells it better. Most products are boring
(i.e. this is just more shampoo), but sexual stimulation is not. Focusing on
the sex rather than the boring product is probably to the benefit of sales.

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onreact-com
In case your into selling real estate, software or marketing etc. don't rely
on pretty faces at all. People trust people who look like experts not like
call center agents, that means they are older and look like real people.

