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[Escape Goat]

I like hearing about all the things advertisers do to food to make them look appealing in an ad. Its more art than food at that point. The ice cream one got me but it makes sense when you think about it. Click the link for more pics on advertised VS reality.

http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/magazine/2014/02/fast-food-not-as-pictured/index.htm

a press spokeswoman for the Federal Trade Commission, says that truth-in-advertising laws do apply when restaurants show menu items in print and television ads. Although no specific FTC regulations govern the photos that marketers use to sell food, Section 5 of the FTC Act says that “the net impression of any advertisement—which includes photographs, other graphic elements, and text—must be truthful and non-misleading.”

But the FTC hasn’t pursued any cases alleging that food ads are deceptive based on photos, Lordan said. “That isn’t surprising,” she added. “The commission is unlikely to take law-enforcement actions in cases where consumers can easily evaluate the product, it’s inexpensive, and it’s frequently purchased.”

 

[Abounder]

...somebody needs to tell the turkeys (and fast food), 'Man, just be yourself.'
-Shia LaBeouf

 

[Mx_Paladin]

Even food needs make-up to look good.

 

[alfredofroylan]

McDonalds Canada
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oSd0keSj2W8
Quite easy actually.

 

[Dai101]

First post wins

 

[lem0n]

Flour-water paste and Vaseline? Sounds about right if were talking mcdonalds breakfast "sandwiches"

 

[styl3s]

I brought this up to my mother many years ago and she said "Do you buy food to hang it on your wall? no? You eat it and shit it out so stop asking me stupid questions"

Ever since i was instilled with such brilliant wisdom i stopped caring.

 

[MIMIC]

McDonalds Canada
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oSd0keSj2W8
Quite easy actually.

I KNEW someone would post this! lol

Saw it posted a few months (weeks?) back. Pretty interesting video.

 

[jerry1594]

This is old news. Ice cream is made if mashed potatoes and they use glue for the milk on cereal boxes.

 

[AtomskEater]

I knew about stuff like that after someone told me the "milk" in cereal pictures is often some mixture with glue in it or something.

That + your burger is being slapped together in two minutes by someone who doesn't give a shit if it is pretty, versus the top percent of burgers going on to be burger models.

 

[Dorimukyasuto]

Food never looks like it does in commercials!

 

[Maklershed]

Does anyone remember that show from the 90s that showed the truth behind kids toys commercials and the truth behind food commercials?

For the food I remember them showing ice cream in commercials are really scoops of Crisco and turkeys are raw but are steamed with an iron to make them look brown, and burgers are propped up with cardboard in the center.

 

[New002]

I got to take a tour of a food photography studio a few years back. Pretty fascinating. Turns out a fake Wendy's frosty isn't cheap!

 

[MindCollizion]

“The commission is unlikely to take law-enforcement actions in cases where consumers can easily evaluate the product, it’s inexpensive, and it’s frequently purchased.”

Is that right?

 

[Ferrio]

One of the chef on Cutthroat Kitchen this week that was his job. He lost...

 

[Fatalah]

I'd like to see photos of food that actually look close to their ads. That would be cool.

 

[Slayven]

One of the chef on Cutthroat Kitchen this week that was his job. He lost...

Food Stylist?

 

[Eusis]

It does look like they used some of the worst possible pictures admittedly for the "what food really looks like", certainly I've never gotten anything from Taco Bell that looked like that gordita. But I don't really care so long as they actually show everything that's supposed to be in the food, nevermind that you can't expect it to look that nice when prepared quickly and wrapped up.

Although that ice cream one is setting off alarm bells and is exactly what I wouldn't want out of food advertising. Hopefully that's more for advertising ice cream CONES, where it's not like you'd actually get in the same box whatever the hell they put on top of the cone in the picture.

 

[John Kowalski]

Meatball subs are disgusting!

Eurgh!

Also cigarette smoke is actually pretty good if you want to make your food look piping hot in just three microwave minutes.

 

[Sectorseven]

Michael Douglas had the same complaint.

 

[Crimsonclaw111]

Meatball subs are disgusting!

Eurgh!

Also cigarette smoke is actually pretty good if you want to make your food look piping hot in just three microwave minutes.

Homemade meatball subs are godlike though

Or do you mean only the fast food variety?

 

[John Kowalski]

Homemade meatball subs are godlike though

Or do you mean only the fast food variety?

Well, i've never made any myself, so just the kind that other people make for you.

 

[Escape Goat]

Well, i've never made any myself, so just the kind that other people make for you.

Leave it to professional sandwich artists.

 

[IceCold]

This is how they do it. They slant the burger to show more of the ingredients then add touch ups (such as adding condiments). Last step is photoshop.

 

[XiaNaphryz]

Oooh, one of these threads!

McDonald's:

Burger King:

KFC:

Subway:

IHOP:

Chipotle:

Arby's:

Dunkin Donuts:

Lean Cuisine:

Healthy Choice:

 

[killer rin]

It does look like they used some of the worst possible pictures admittedly for the "what food really looks like", certainly I've never gotten anything from Taco Bell that looked like that gordita. But I don't really care so long as they actually show everything that's supposed to be in the food, nevermind that you can't expect it to look that nice when prepared quickly and wrapped up.

Although that ice cream one is setting off alarm bells and is exactly what I wouldn't want out of food advertising. Hopefully that's more for advertising ice cream CONES, where it's not like you'd actually get in the same box whatever the hell they put on top of the cone in the picture.

I really dont see why the Icecream one sets off bells. Its the only one which has a problem rooted in physics. Icecream melts, fast, even faster when under a hot light. There is no way in hell you would be able to get a picture of the product that wasn't in the liquid state to even use for promotions. So instead, they just mock it up and put it through extra processes to make it look exactly like the finished product (unlike the other ones where it wont look exactly the same as what you get).

Whats the problem?.

 

[John Kowalski]

On a more serious note, it's sad that food photography is one of those genres that is so obsessed with the seemingly perfect representation of what amounts to little else than still life you want to put inside your mouth, instead of photographing food using other methods that are more genuine and intimate. This obsession isn't as bad as the one that makes 15 year olds do coke and fuck old men to have at least one modelling job for the month, but it's still pretty nutty.

 

[alfredofroylan]

On a more serious note, it's sad that food photography is one of those genres that is so obsessed with the seemingly perfect representation of what amount to little else than still life you want to put inside your mouth, instead of photographing food using other methods that are more genuine and intimate. This obsession isn't as bad as the one that makes 15 year olds do coke and fuck old men to have at least one modelling job for the month, but it's still pretty nutty.

It's called "Food porn"

 

[xbhaskarx]

My friend's mom's job was photographing food so that it looked appealing... apparently it takes some real skill.

 

[way more]

Southern Style Chicken always looks pretty spot on to me.

Mock up

Reality

in fact, all of the "Premium" items usually look very nice. I wonder if at some point they decided to focus on that.

 

[G-Fex]

I thought this was known?

It's practically art to get food the way it looks for a photoshoot.

Takes some talent and ingenuity to get it looking that way.

KNOW WHAT ALWAYS LOOKS GOOD DOE? PIZZA!

 

[Ekdrm2d1]

Michael Douglas had the same complaint.

I came for this.

 

[Featheredkitten]

Of course it's not going to look like what the ads show. These articles keep popping up as if we're supposed to be shocked.

I knew about stuff like that after someone told me the "milk" in cereal pictures is often some mixture with glue in it or something.

That + your burger is being slapped together in two minutes by someone who doesn't give a shit if it is pretty, versus the top percent of burgers going on to be burger models.

Ugh I know, it's so dominated by pretty burgers, how about some real burgers for a change? Show what the average burger looks like instead of these half starved women who...woah went off on a tangent there.

 

[agrajag]

I thought this was common knowledge. Food artists and food photographers are people whose profession is to do the very thing in the OP. Real ice cream isn't even used in advertisement because it melts too quick from set lights.

 

[Eusis]

I really dont see why the Icecream one sets off bells. Its the only one which has a problem rooted in physics. Icecream melts, fast, even faster when under a hot light. There is no way in hell you would be able to get a picture of the product in the liquid state to even use for promotions. So instead, they just mock it up and put it through extra processes to make it look exactly like the finished product (unlike the other ones where it wont look exactly the same as what you get).

Whats the problem?.

Mainly the idea that even if prettied up and doctored up it's still at its core supposed to be what you're actually going to eat, and even if the rest have weird weird preservative crap thrown on it's not like they made a beef-like sculpture instead or anything. But that's part of why I wonder if that's for ice cream cones because I do remember hearing about how they'd have to be careful and do multiple shots on real ice cream way back, and there was that throw away comment someone made about how expensive an ad Frosty was.

 

[Ahasverus]

Because it would not be fast

 

[Crimsonclaw111]

pics

"It's a burrito, in a bowl & filled with dreams" and "undeniably delicious oatmeal" are killing me for some reason.

 

[Manmademan]

Michael Douglas had the same complaint.

All that eating out is going to give him cancer one day

 

[BlackNMild2k1]

I'd like to see photos of food that actually look close to their ads. That would be cool.

Wendy's Pretzel Bacon Burger is about as close to delivered as advertised as I have ever gotten. No feelings of false advertisement there. And it was delicious too.

 

[Dandy Crocodile]

This is how they do it. They slant the burger to show more of the ingredients then add touch ups (such as adding condiments). Last step is photoshop.

 

[Aaron Strife]

Oooh, one of these threads!

KFC:

This one doesn't look too bad.

You can totally notice this when you're merged with the wall.

 

[OnkelC]

Even the best prepared food item will look suboptimal when wrapped in paper and tossed around before consumption.

But at least McD seems to do something about that, the local place has a new (to me) concept where everything is prepared on order only. Even the standard cheeseburgers are an OK presentation that way.

 

[Eusis]

Even the best prepared food item will look suboptimal when wrapped in paper and tossed around before consumption.

But at least McD seems to do something about that, the local place has a new (to me) concept where everything is prepared on order only. Even the standard cheeseburgers are an OK presentation that way.

Yeah, as funny as it can be to joke about how it looks like absolute crap compared to the ad... honestly, what the hell were you expecting once it got wrapped up and thrown in a bag? This isn't a hard pretzel or something, it's a soft bun that will easily get crushed, if not by other items in the bag then by your hands as you unwrap it.