Short answer
For luxury brands, prioritize models with neutral expressions to convey competence and credibility, which drives higher consumer engagement and purchase intent.
- Field
- Innovation & Markets
- Source
- Psychology and Marketing (2025)
- Method
- Experimental research
- Sample
- Total N = 234,679 (across studies)
- Evidence
- Strong effect
Contrary to common advertising practice, a neutral facial expression on models in luxury brand advertisements leads to greater consumer engagement and purchase intent. This innovation & markets research insight is drawn from a 2025 study published in Psychology and Marketing. Using Experimental research with Total N = 234,679 (across studies), researchers explored how this design variable affects real-world outcomes. The key design takeaway: For luxury brands, prioritize models with neutral expressions to convey competence and credibility, which drives higher consumer engagement and purchase intent.
Neutral Expressions Enhance Luxury Ad Effectiveness by 30%
Contrary to common advertising practice, a neutral facial expression on models in luxury brand advertisements leads to greater consumer engagement and purchase intent.
Psychology and Marketing · 2025
Key Findings
- 01Neutral expressions in luxury ads lead to higher engagement, click-through rates, ad attitudes, and purchase behaviors compared to slight or broad smiles.
- 02This effect is driven by increased perceptions of competence and ad credibility associated with neutral expressions.
- 03The detrimental effect of smiles is attenuated for consumers who rely more on emotions for decisions (low lay rationalism) and when the model's gaze is direct.
Application
Design takeaway
For luxury brands, prioritize models with neutral expressions to convey competence and credibility, which drives higher consumer engagement and purchase intent.
How to apply
When developing creative assets for luxury brands, test advertisements featuring models with neutral expressions alongside those with smiles to empirically validate the impact on key performance indicators.
Project actions
- 01When designing an advertisement, consider the product's market positioning (e.g., luxury vs. everyday).
- 02Experiment with different facial expressions for models to see how it impacts perceived brand qualities.
- 03Think about how the model's expression might influence the viewer's judgment of the product's quality or value.
Method & Evidence
Variables
Strengths & Limitations
Strengths
- +Large sample sizes in field experiments provide robust generalizability.
- +Multiple studies using different luxury products and brands increase the reliability of findings.
- +Investigation of boundary conditions (lay rationalism, gaze direction) adds depth to the understanding.
Limitations
The study focused on specific types of luxury products and may not apply to all luxury markets. The sample size in some controlled experiments was relatively small compared to the large-scale field studies.
Reliability & validity
The study's use of multiple preregistered studies, large field data, and controlled experiments enhances both internal and external validity. Reliability is supported by consistent findings across different methodologies and contexts.
Think critically
If a neutral expression is perceived as more competent for luxury brands, does this imply that approachability and warmth are detrimental to exclusivity, or are there specific luxury segments where approachability is still key?
Design Principles
"Align emotional expression with brand positioning: For luxury, neutrality can signal competence and exclusivity, whereas approachability may be better served by smiles in other contexts."
This research challenges conventional wisdom in advertising, suggesting that for luxury goods, a perceived sense of competence and credibility, fostered by a neutral expression, is more persuasive than the warmth typically conveyed by a smile. Designers and marketers should reconsider the emotional cues used in luxury campaigns to align with consumer perceptions of exclusivity and quality.
What This Means for Your Design
For ads selling expensive, fancy items, the person in the ad looking serious or neutral is actually more convincing than someone smiling broadly. It makes the brand seem more expert and trustworthy.
How to use in your project
- 1.Use this study to justify the choice of facial expression for a model in your design project, especially if it's for a luxury or high-end product.
- 2.Cite this research when discussing the effectiveness of nonverbal communication in advertising and its impact on consumer behavior.
Add to My Project
Quick Cite
Paragraph starter
Research by Essiz, Senyuz, and Yurteri (2025) indicates that for luxury brand advertising, a neutral facial expression on the model can significantly outperform smiling expressions, leading to higher consumer engagement and purchase intent. This is attributed to the neutral expression fostering perceptions of greater competence and credibility, which are crucial for luxury product appeal. Therefore, when designing advertisements for high-value or exclusive products, designers should consider employing neutral expressions to enhance brand perception and market effectiveness.
Source
Psychology and Marketing
The Dark Side of a Big Smile: Detrimental Effects of Smile Intensity on Luxury Brand Advertising Effectiveness
journal · 2025
View sourceQuestions About This Research
- What does the research say about neutral expressions enhance luxury ad effectiveness by 30%?
- For luxury brands, prioritize models with neutral expressions to convey competence and credibility, which drives higher consumer engagement and purchase intent. Evidence: Psychology and Marketing (2025).
- Why does "Neutral Expressions Enhance Luxury Ad Effectiveness by 30%" matter for design?
- This research challenges conventional wisdom in advertising, suggesting that for luxury goods, a perceived sense of competence and credibility, fostered by a neutral expression, is more persuasive than the warmth typically conveyed by a smile. Designers and marketers should reconsider the emotional cues used in luxury campaigns to align with consumer perceptions of exclusivity and quality.
- How can designers apply this research?
- For luxury brands, prioritize models with neutral expressions to convey competence and credibility, which drives higher consumer engagement and purchase intent.
- What were the main findings?
- Neutral expressions in luxury ads lead to higher engagement, click-through rates, ad attitudes, and purchase behaviors compared to slight or broad smiles.. This effect is driven by increased perceptions of competence and ad credibility associated with neutral expressions.. The detrimental effect of smiles is attenuated for consumers who rely more on emotions for decisions (low lay rationalism) and when the model's gaze is direct.
- What research method was used?
- Experimental research with Total N = 234,679 (across studies).
- How strong is the evidence?
- Evidence strength is rated Strong effect, based on a 2025 journal from Psychology and Marketing.
- What should I do differently in my next project?
- When developing creative assets for luxury brands, test advertisements featuring models with neutral expressions alongside those with smiles to empirically validate the impact on key performance indicators.
- What are the limitations?
- The findings may be specific to certain types of luxury products or cultural contexts. The influence of other nonverbal cues not tested could also play a role.