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Campbell's Soup Co. was charged with deception when it placed marbles in the bottom of a soup bowl so ingredients would rise to the surface. |
Deceptive advertising, whether from altered images and/or simulations, infomercials, misleading statements, outrageous claims, and questionable testimonials -have a long history in the US.
There are legendary stories about ad campaigns that used mock-ups rather than real products to simulate the way products work. When some of these practices came to the attention of the public, some people called them "deceptive advertising," and the authorities stepped in. Nowadays, the Photoshop phenomena is the primary tool to enhance a product.
Digitally Enhanced Images Getting Attention from Authorities.
In the US and the UK, authorities are taking issue with cosmetic ads that they deem are misleading. Print ads for CoverGirl mascara, fronted by spokes model Taylor Swift, have been banned by the U.S.'s watchdog National Advertising Division of the Council of Better Business Bureaus Claims (mercifully abbreviated to NAD) for making unsubstantiated claims. According to the NAD, the mascara ads made claims that couldn't be proven. What's more, fine print beneath Swift's picture states "lashes enhanced in post production."
This is the first major beauty ad to be banned in the United States, though such measures are less rare in the United Kingdom and Europe, where media-watch groups have adopted particularly aggressive anti-Photoshop stances.
For a quick view on how Photoshop is used in cosmetic advertising, check out the video called Evolution below from Dove that shows how Photoshopping is applied to a model.
P&G had the grace to pull the ad when it got caught, but it's a slippery slope between artistic enhancement and government regulation.
When asked whether this was a de facto ban on Photoshop, NAD director Andrea Levine stated, "You can't use a photograph to demonstrate how a cosmetic will look after it is applied to a woman's face and then - in the mice type - have a disclosure that says 'okay, not really.'" Mice type! We like this lady.
Julia Roberts and Christy Turlington are two very beautiful women. But in order to sell its foundation, L’Oreal may have made some itty bitty adjustments to their faces.
That’s a no-no, according to Britain’s Advertising Standards Authority, who has banned two ads of the lovely ladies that were airbrushed to an extent that they claim misleads customers. This will come as a shock to anyone familiar with makeup ads.
Member of Parliament Jo Swinson first alerted the campaign watchdog to Lancome's two-page ad showing Roberts as shot by Mario Testino and a spot for Maybelline's "Eraser" foundation featuring Turlington.
Member of Parliament Jo Swinson first alerted the campaign watchdog to Lancome's two-page ad showing Roberts as shot by Mario Testino and a spot for Maybelline's "Eraser" foundation featuring Turlington.
Swinson added, "Excessive airbrushing and digital manipulation techniques have become the norm, but both Christy Turlington and Julia Roberts are naturally beautiful women who don't need retouching to look great. This ban sends a powerful message to advertisers -- let's get back to reality,"
In the old days of TV ads, many tricks were used: motor oil over roasts to make them look better, airbrushed automobiles, razors that could shave the sand off a piece of sandpaper, mashed potatoes in place of ice cream - and so much more.
A classic example include Campbell's Soups ads (1968); in order to show the abundance of vegetable and noodles in the soup, the ads were shot after placing clear marbles in the bottom of the bowls, helping the vegetables stay near the top and show up clearly in the ads. They got busted by the FTC for false advertising.
It's true that food stylists - those who arrange and photograph food for those tempting photos you see in ads and in restaurants - sometimes create ingenious concoctions to stand in for the real thing under the hot lights of the studio.
Mashed potatoes are still substituted for ice cream. So are recipes involving shortening and confectioners sugar. But when it comes to photos used in advertising, the Federal Trade Commission has deemed that real ice cream must be used in ice cream ads. However, if the ads are for the ice cream cone or a hot fudge topping, a phony ice cream concoction can be used.
Sources:
1. Sarah Anne Hughes, "CoverGirl Ad Featuring Taylor Swift Nixed Over 'Enhanced' Eyelashes," The Washington Post, December 22, 2011
2. Charlotte Cowles, "Taylor Swift's CoverGirl Mascara Ad Banned," New York Magazine, December 20, 2011
3. Jim Edwards, "US Moves Toward Banning Photoshop in Cosmetic Ads," Business Insider, December 16, 2011
4. Turkey Hill Team, "Did You Know: There's Truth in Ice Cream Advertising," Icecream Journal, March 11, 2009
5. William M. O'Barr, "Ethics and Adverising," Advertising & Society Review, 2007
6. Hilary Moss, "Julia Roberts & Christy Turlington L'Oreal Ads Banned in UK," The Huffington Post, July 27, 2011
7. Colleen Nika, "Taylor Swift's Mascara Ad Discontinued, 'Vogue' Cover Confirmed," Rolling Stone Magazine, December 21, 2011
