or maybe its Photoshop.
In class today, we talked about ethical issues in marketing. In particular I want to touch upon and talk a little bit about deceptive advertising.
According to Wikipedia, deceptive advertising is
The use of false or misleading statement in advertising.
That being said, it’s a fact that all ads are photoshopped or altered. Perhaps this statement is to general and broad, but the reality is that if it’s an advertisement, even if it claims to be au natural, chances are the subject has been manipulated in some way in order to showcase the product in the best possible light.
Some of the worst offenders of deceptive advertising is committed by cosmetics companies. Everything from promising incredible eye lashes to reversing the aging process are splashed across ads that we see every day and everywhere.
Two examples I’d like to draw upon are CoverGirl’s ad featuring Taylor Swift and Maybelline’s ad featuring Christy Turlington. The former’s campaign is based on a mascara that promises two times the volume of the other leading mascara brand. However, the accompanying photo with Swift had her mile long lashes have been deemed to be too photoshopped. Swift’s lashes are not in fact attainable only using the product but consumers have been mislead into thinking that if they purchase this product they too will have the same result.
Similarly in Maybelline’s “The Eraser” ad, which promises to ‘erase’ signs of aging shows an overly photoshopped Turlington with flawless skin at the age of 43. The ad misleads their consumers into the belief that as long as they purchase this product they will also have flawless skin in their forties, which quite frankly is impossible without cosmetic surgery as collagen and elastin start slowing down production well before a woman’s thirties.
Deceptive advertising leads to false images of what the ideal should be. Unethical marketing such as this leads to an unattainable and unrealistic ideal of beauty.