What's Wrong With This Picture? Consumers Use Web to Debunk Ad Fakery
One of the great things about new technology and the web is that consumers can quickly debunk ads by reshooting them or recreating them and showing the reality. Whether advertisers are prepared for the consequences, however, is an open question. Most brand managers and their ad agencies hire top photographers and producers to make products in ads look super-awesome. In reality, as we know, it's rather different. Clothes don't fit. Burgers are small. Cosmetics won't make you look like a model.
Recently, several videos and photo galleries have cropped up online that debunk advertising by juxtaposing it with the reality of products and brands as they appear real life. (You've probably seen "Women laughing alone with salad," for instance, which began making the rounds last week.)
The results are amusing -- Burger King (BK)'s Whopper as portrayed in its ads bears no relation to the disorganized bundle that is sold in real life. More importantly they are a red flag for advertisers: Faking it is no longer good enough. Here's a sampling:
"American Apparel Will Make You Look Like A Fat Hooker"
Two young bloggers from Jezebel, neither of whom were in any way overweight, made this video of themselves trying on clothes at American Apparel (APP).
The results show that it's almost impossible to look as good as the advertising suggests it will:
At Express, even reality isn't real
This fitted cardigan looks great on the mannequin at my local Express:
But walk behind the display and it turns out that the clothes don't even fit the perfectly proportioned showroom dummy. How on earth was it supposed to fit me?
Revlon's "Just Bitten" will not make you look like Jessica Biel
Here's what the ad looks like:
And here's what the lipstain looks like when applied in real life:
Everyone hated the new Gap logo because everyone knew how little effort went into it
I've noted before that consumers are now savvy about design in the same way as they are about media and advertising. Most consumers have better software on their laptops today than professional designers had on their desktops 20 years ago, so advertisers can no longer pass off lame work in the same way they used to. That's one explanation for why The Gap (GPS)'s ill-fated new logo bit the dust so quickly -- everyone knew it didn't take a lot of work to create. Here's a video by design shop DMDC Brighton showing how to create the new Gap logo in less than one minute.
That's an Arby's Beef 'n' Cheddar?
This gallery of fast-food images has been making the rounds for years. It shows images of burgers and burritos from the advertising of McDonald's (MCD), Burger King et al. and then real shots taken of food as delivered in the restaurant. "Nothing was tampered with, run over by a car, or anything of the sort. It is an accurate representation in every case," the site says.
A "makeup artist for food"
This video was made for kids but it's just as interesting for any adult who wants to know how food advertising is made. A "makeup artist for food" goes step by step through a typical burger beauty shot. The patty is cooked for only 20 seconds to keep it plump, sesame seeds are glued to the bun and toothpicks prop up the lettuce and tomatoes to make the whole thing look like a little mountain.
Domino's gets it
There is one advertiser that has done more than any other to embrace the new reality of consumer-generated ad images: Domino's Pizza (DPZ). The chain famously decided to come clean about its lousy product and has changed everything about it from top to bottom, boosting sales. It also confessed in this video how it previously made pizza look good in its old ads: With nails, tweezers, blow dryers, syringes, and Q-Tips. Currently, the chain uses photos that consumers have sent in of their own pizzas in its ads.
Image at top from Things Real People Don't Say About Advertising.