Making dough or spam? The perplexing case of designing lead generation pages

My guess is that the "need to have arms with pointed elbows" (which seems to have been noted via A/B testing) may be for two reasons. Firstly, showing elbows means showing the subject from a greater distance than a face-shot. This is perhaps less confronting, and also makes it easier to incorporate other elements (eg, blackboard, apple) that add context.

The pointed part is perhaps related to actions. Non-pointed elbows happen when we hold a fairly inactive pose (eg, arms by our side). Pointed elbows are for holding things, pointing at things, and interacting with objects and people - all of which are much more engaging.

Any other thoughts?