# Why are there no large breasted women in television commercials? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 3, 2003, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-there-no-large-breasted-women-in-television-commercials/172787 "2003-05-03T03:12:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2003, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-there-no-large-breasted-women-in-television-commercials/172787/1 "2003-05-03T03:12:00Z")
It occurred to me I’ve never seen a (non-fat) large breasted woman selling anything in your everday, run of the mill product commercials on TV except for Mimi Rogers, and that was in hair dye ads where only her head and hair were seen. Is the sight of large breasts too powerful and distracting for selling television products like detergent or appliances even if the main target audience is female? ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2003, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-there-no-large-breasted-women-in-television-commercials/172787/2 "2003-05-03T03:26:28Z")
You’re the first person I’ve ever heard say this. And I’d put good money down that you’ll be the last. ---
**Author:** ![I\_can\_t\_believe\_that\_s\_butter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/8edcca/32.png) [@I\_can\_t\_believe\_that\_s\_butter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_can_t_believe_that_s_butter)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2003, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-there-no-large-breasted-women-in-television-commercials/172787/3 "2003-05-03T03:29:28Z")
Well, perhaps it has to do with what a friend (a former model herself) told me about large breasts and modeling (which seems to go hand-in-hand with TV commercials): She said that the standard for breast size was around a B (34B is the average breast size in the U.S., IIRC). She, having 34C breasts, had to use duct-tape in a specific manner to meet standards. Perhaps the producers follow such standards as well? ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2003, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-there-no-large-breasted-women-in-television-commercials/172787/4 "2003-05-03T03:33:22Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Marley23 \* > \*\*You’re the first person I’ve ever heard say this. And I’d put good money down that you’ll be the last. \*\* Ooookay… please name one commercial (other than the one I cited) where a mundane, everyday household product is being sold by a large breasted woman of medium or slender build. ---
**Author:** ![Tommyturtle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8491ac/32.png) [@Tommyturtle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tommyturtle)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2003, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-there-no-large-breasted-women-in-television-commercials/172787/5 "2003-05-03T03:53:16Z")
**Beer commercials** 😛 ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2003, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-there-no-large-breasted-women-in-television-commercials/172787/6 "2003-05-03T03:58:11Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Tommyturtle \* > \*\ ***Beer commercials** > > 😛 \*\* Not really the kind of “household” product I had in mind, but OK I’ll play. Please name one television beer commercial (not a print ad) where large breasted women are selling beer. ---
**Author:** ![Lobsang](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobsang/32/4067_2.png) [@Lobsang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobsang)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2003, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-there-no-large-breasted-women-in-television-commercials/172787/7 "2003-05-03T04:01:00Z")
I’ve lost the key to the archives room. And it’s in London. I am, well, not in London. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2003, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-there-no-large-breasted-women-in-television-commercials/172787/8 "2003-05-03T04:08:09Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Lobsang \* > \*\*I’ve lost the key to the archives room. > > And it’s in London. I am, well, not in London. \*\* I’m not talking about English commercials. Given the more sophisticated and tolerant English attitudes toward “big-uns” in advertising I can well imagine English and/or European attitudes being less cramped on this issue than American ones. ---
**Author:** ![Tommyturtle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8491ac/32.png) [@Tommyturtle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tommyturtle)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2003, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-there-no-large-breasted-women-in-television-commercials/172787/9 "2003-05-03T04:12:01Z")
It’s a household product in my home or is that TMI? How about the Swedish Bikini Team? I’m sure there were some guys in those commercials but who remembers them? ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2003, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-there-no-large-breasted-women-in-television-commercials/172787/10 "2003-05-03T04:28:41Z")
> [@](#): > > Please name one television beer commercial (not a print ad) where large breasted women are selling beer. Pick one. The most recent I saw was for Miller Lite, I think. Tastes great, less filling. It’s got a woman ripping off her shirt to reveal a bikini that she fills out quite a bit. Then she gets in a pool and ends up wrestling with the guy, and it ends with one of the more blantant tit shots I’ve ever seen on TV. It’s meant to be a spoof of other beer commercials, which might act as support of its own. There are probably some cases in which a model would be asked to de-emphasize her chest; I can imagine that. But I almost choked when the post posited there are NO large-breasted women selling stuff on TV. Usually, you see them selling stuff targeted at guys; that might account for the discrepancy if you add the disclaimer “for household products.” ---
**Author:** ![cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e95f7d/32.png) [@cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cynic)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2003, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-there-no-large-breasted-women-in-television-commercials/172787/11 "2003-05-03T04:38:50Z")
[http://www.findarticles.com/cf\_0/m2294/n3-4\_v39/21227871/p3/article.jhtml?term=](http://www.findarticles.com/cf_0/m2294/n3-4_v39/21227871/p3/article.jhtml?term=) > [@](#): > > In another study, using color photographs, the same experimenters found that women with smaller breasts were rated as “competent, ambitious, intelligent, moral and modest.” However, women with large breasts were judged to have the opposite characteristics, by both female and male participants. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2003, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-there-no-large-breasted-women-in-television-commercials/172787/12 "2003-05-03T04:48:53Z")
Which opens up a different double-D sized can of worms. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Horrifying\_Howler\_Monkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/df788c/32.png) [@Horrifying\_Howler\_Monkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horrifying_Howler_Monkey)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2003, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-there-no-large-breasted-women-in-television-commercials/172787/13 "2003-05-03T14:03:54Z")
The Molson Canadian ads usually have big boobed women in them as well. ---
**Author:** ![Lizard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/dfb087/32.png) [@Lizard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lizard)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2003, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-there-no-large-breasted-women-in-television-commercials/172787/14 "2003-05-03T14:56:56Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by astro \* > \*\*Ooookay… please name one commercial (other than the one I cited) where a mundane, everyday household product is being sold by a large breasted woman of medium or slender build. \*\* Because very few such women even exist? Let’s be honest: breasts consist mostly of fat. Thin women have less fat. Fatter women, obviously, have more fat. Therefore, you’ll see bigger breasts mostly on fatter women. As a breast man, I’ve observed this trend throughout my adult life. There are natural exceptions (such as pop singer Anastacia, who had double-Ds) but they are _very_ rare. If you see big breats on a thin woman, they are usually fake and she is usually a stripper, porn star, or, at best, a bikini model. ---
**Author:** ![Lizard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/dfb087/32.png) [@Lizard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lizard)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2003, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-there-no-large-breasted-women-in-television-commercials/172787/15 "2003-05-03T15:03:22Z")
I should add that because of the correlation of bodyfat to breast size, thin women with big breasts tend to look unnatural. That’s because they _are_ unnatural! And putting someone who looks unnatural in an advertisement is not a good idea. The focus of an ad is supposed to be the product, not the actor. ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Bean](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_bean/32/1760_2.png) [@Green\_Bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Bean)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2003, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-there-no-large-breasted-women-in-television-commercials/172787/16 "2003-05-03T15:08:48Z")
Big breasted women in beer commercials? I see 'em all the time. What about the “twins.” Damn that’s a catchy jingle, but I can’t name the beer it’s for. I think the lack of boobies in household products has to do with who is buying the household products. IIRC, women spend something like 70% of the consumer dollars in this country, and I would expect that with things like household cleaners the percentage is much higher. I don’t think big breasted women will make these consumers any more likely to buy the products, and if it’s too blatant, it might be a turn-off to them. So, I’m guessing that the advertisers err on the more prudent side. Besides, if the talent agency is contacted and asked to provide an actress to portray a housewife using Ivory Snow, the talent agency isn’t going to send a Pam Anderson type. There are people who make their whole careers playing “housewives” or “mechanics” or what have you. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2003, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-there-no-large-breasted-women-in-television-commercials/172787/17 "2003-05-03T15:17:30Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Lizard \* > \*\*Because very few such women even exist? Let’s be honest: breasts consist mostly of fat. Thin women have less fat. Fatter women, obviously, have more fat. Therefore, you’ll see bigger breasts mostly on fatter women. > > As a breast man, I’ve observed this trend throughout my adult life. There are natural exceptions (such as pop singer Anastacia, who had double-Ds) but they are _very_ rare. If you see big breats on a thin woman, they are usually fake and she is usually a stripper, porn star, or, at best, a bikini model. \*\* I’ve have to disagree as to the rarity of endowed women with medium builds. I’m in a medium sized town and I have seen a number of reasonably well endowed (naturally endowed) women with medium (more rarely slender but they do exist) builds everyday. Just go to a mall. Not every woman with a rack is going to be built like a manatee, and yet (with the possible exception of beer commercials) you never see these women in everday product advertisements, just the aforementioned size Bs. Per the others I’m guessing there is a standard sized product model template and if you go beyond that filter you are out. ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2003, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-there-no-large-breasted-women-in-television-commercials/172787/18 "2003-05-03T15:35:08Z")
Household products are mainly bought by women. I’d guess the average woman would respond better to ads featuring women that, while idealized and attractive, look something like the average customer. Having huge boobs may detract from the average customer identifying with the product. The recent “less is more” Blue Light beer commercial features a fairly large breasted woman wearing a tube top, for one example. More men than women probably buy beer. ---
**Author:** ![Sublight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@Sublight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sublight)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2003, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-there-no-large-breasted-women-in-television-commercials/172787/19 "2003-05-03T16:09:15Z")
There was also the Swedish Bikini Team series of ads for Old Milwaukee, which always seemed to me to be the epitome of half-assed creative work. After taking a look at the recent Jennifer Love Hewitt ad for Levis jeans, the reason seems kind of obvious: nobody’s looking at the product. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2003, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-there-no-large-breasted-women-in-television-commercials/172787/20 "2003-05-03T16:31:16Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Sublight \* > \*\*There was also the Swedish Bikini Team series of ads for Old Milwaukee, which always seemed to me to be the epitome of half-assed creative work. > > After taking a look at the recent Jennifer Love Hewitt ad for Levis jeans, the reason seems kind of obvious: nobody’s looking at the product. \*\* You’re right I completely forgot about the JLH jeans ads! And you’re right I imagine [very few males looking at either the first](http://www.celebrity-fansites.com/multimedia/stars/jennifer_love_hewitt/levis_jeans_commercial/0001_high.ram) [or the second ad](http://www.933flz.com/audio/JLH-LevisColor.mpg)were thinking about what a fine product the jeans were. Weren’t those ad’s removed from circulation for some reason? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-there-no-large-breasted-women-in-television-commercials/172787.md?page=2)