Food Advertising vs Reality - Page 2

Morrigoon · 03-25-2008, 01:48 PM

From the OP's site, here's a good one:
http://pundo3000.com/htms/7.htm

Morrigoon · 03-25-2008, 01:50 PM

Oh dear... no amount of advertising can make this look good:
http://pundo3000.com/htms/12.htm

Ghoulish Delight · 03-25-2008, 01:51 PM

A lot of these are foreign products, so I don't know what the rules are, but I believe in the US, as long as everything shown is actually in the product, it can be arranged any way they want. So, taking that rice ball example that Morrigoon just posted, as long as the amount of carrots, peas, and spices (I think that's what all of that is) is somewhere in the actual ball of rice, it's perfectly allowed. It doesn't matter that in the picture they just all happened to be located around the outside instead of evenly spread through the whole thing as they are in reality.

wendybeth · 03-25-2008, 02:25 PM

Years ago, we studied such things in a media class. Back then, photoshopping wasn't an option (although airbrushing was) and the photogs had to get real creative. Vaseline on the lens, plastic ice cubes, Elmer's glue instead of milk, and so on. It was a fun class, and I've never looked at advertising the same since- especially food ads.

Eliza Hodgkins 1812 · 03-25-2008, 02:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wendybeth

Years ago, we studied such things in a media class. Back then, photoshopping wasn't an option (although airbrushing was) and the photogs had to get real creative. Vaseline on the lens, plastic ice cubes, Elmer's glue instead of milk, and so on. It was a fun class, and I've never looked at advertising the same since- especially food ads.

Elmers?! Really?! The irony!

BarTopDancer · 03-25-2008, 02:45 PM

Milk shows up another color (I want to say yellow or green, but it may be blue), so glue is used as a substitute.

katiesue · 03-25-2008, 02:46 PM

Plus the hot studio lights tend to make food go bad quickly.

Alex · 03-25-2008, 02:56 PM

My understanding is that the law regarding food photography in advertising is that the actual item being sold must be real in the photographs (of course, that doesn't mean you can't do just about anything you can think of to make it look better) but that surrounding items can be fake.

So, if you're selling cereal you can use fake milk but not cereal in the photo. But if you were selling milk you could use fake cereal but not milk in the photo. And you can have 45 toothpicks inside the hamburger you're photographing to keep it perfectly formed and perky.

But that is coming from dim recesses of my brain so I may be misremembering or have learned untruths.

Strangler Lewis · 03-25-2008, 04:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by katiesue

Plus the hot studio lights tend to make food go bad quickly.

For this reason, I've heard that mashed potatoes are used in lieu of ice cream.

SzczerbiakManiac · 03-26-2008, 10:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Strangler Lewis

For this reason, I've heard that mashed potatoes are used in lieu of ice cream.

On a movie set, that's often been the case. But for close-up photography, it would be very difficult to get smashed taters to look like ice cream.

03-25-2008, 01:48 PM	#11
Morrigoon I throw stones at houses Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Location: Location Posts: 9,534	From the OP's site, here's a good one: http://pundo3000.com/htms/7.htm __________________ http://bash.org/?top "It is useless for sheep to pass a resolution in favor of vegetarianism while wolves remain of a different opinion." -- William Randolph Inge
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03-25-2008, 01:50 PM	#12
Morrigoon I throw stones at houses Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Location: Location Posts: 9,534	Oh dear... no amount of advertising can make this look good: http://pundo3000.com/htms/12.htm __________________ http://bash.org/?top "It is useless for sheep to pass a resolution in favor of vegetarianism while wolves remain of a different opinion." -- William Randolph Inge
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03-25-2008, 01:51 PM	#13
Ghoulish Delight I Floop the Pig Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Alternative Swankstyle Posts: 19,348	A lot of these are foreign products, so I don't know what the rules are, but I believe in the US, as long as everything shown is actually in the product, it can be arranged any way they want. So, taking that rice ball example that Morrigoon just posted, as long as the amount of carrots, peas, and spices (I think that's what all of that is) is somewhere in the actual ball of rice, it's perfectly allowed. It doesn't matter that in the picture they just all happened to be located around the outside instead of evenly spread through the whole thing as they are in reality. __________________ 'He who receives an idea from me, receives instruction himself without lessening mine; as he who lights his taper at mine, receives light without darkening me.' -TJ
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03-25-2008, 02:25 PM	#14
wendybeth Nevermind Join Date: Jan 2005 Posts: 7,847	Years ago, we studied such things in a media class. Back then, photoshopping wasn't an option (although airbrushing was) and the photogs had to get real creative. Vaseline on the lens, plastic ice cubes, Elmer's glue instead of milk, and so on. It was a fun class, and I've never looked at advertising the same since- especially food ads. __________________
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03-25-2008, 02:45 PM	#16
BarTopDancer Prepping... Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Here, there, everywhere Posts: 11,405	Milk shows up another color (I want to say yellow or green, but it may be blue), so glue is used as a substitute. __________________ Spork is the new MacGyver Postcards From My Edge
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03-25-2008, 02:46 PM	#17
katiesue Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: San Diego Posts: 4,678	Plus the hot studio lights tend to make food go bad quickly. __________________ My life is so exciting I can hardly stand it.
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03-25-2008, 02:56 PM	#18
Alex . Join Date: Feb 2005 Posts: 13,354	My understanding is that the law regarding food photography in advertising is that the actual item being sold must be real in the photographs (of course, that doesn't mean you can't do just about anything you can think of to make it look better) but that surrounding items can be fake. So, if you're selling cereal you can use fake milk but not cereal in the photo. But if you were selling milk you could use fake cereal but not milk in the photo. And you can have 45 toothpicks inside the hamburger you're photographing to keep it perfectly formed and perky. But that is coming from dim recesses of my brain so I may be misremembering or have learned untruths.
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