It may seem like I’ve been hatin’ on fast food, but trust me, I love fast food. Don’t get me wrong. Anyways, I came across something quite intriguing, the concept of ‘food stylists’. These agents of marketing, work to make food look perfect on advertisments, particularly fast food. Take a look at this video from Youtube. 
The 90's summarized visually.
Wow, look at that intro, I haven’t seen a colour scheme like that since the 90’s. Regardless of that fact, it is evident that food stylists were the rage back then. These ‘artists’ would spend ridiculous amounts of time designing a fake burger… One that looked unbelievably delicious, yet disgusting if you actually took a bit out of it. Personally, i think this shows how marketing can be an art form, the ability to make something look amazing despite the reality of what the product actually will look like (refer to previous blog posts). This is a perfect example of the P, “promotion”, and it is showing how far companies will go to make their product look good. The most common way to target consumers is visually and it is very important to set a good image.
Is this ethical? It may be hidden to consumers, but I actually think it isn’t unethical or breaking too many rules. Think about it, would you want them to put a pictures of their actual normal burger they serve you? I think most people would be turned off at the immediate sight, and would never have the opportunity to taste the delicious greasy burger. Although that being said, I do think that companies that do engage in this food styling should attempt to match their products shown.
Another aspect of this issue may be brought up is technology. Notice how that video was
"Yes, this is my job. Got a problem?"
set in the 90’s? Well, now a days, I’m confident that marketers no longer require a ‘food stylist’, rather a computer with photoshop. No need to even whip out the spatula! Marketing has gone a long way… although honestly I think it would be a hilarious/awesome job being a food stylist.