Deceptive Food Ads vs. Reality

 

This is probably one of my favorite articles ever written because I always have seen commercials for McDonalds and Burger King, where the cheeseburgers look like masterpieces, but everyone knows that they come out looking flat and ugly. If you guys have time, watch the video I have attached to this post as well because it shows how much time is put into one picture to Photoshop the burger for McDonald’s to get your mouths watering when you are watching TV. I usually love advertisements and respect the fact that good advertisements have the power to make products and services look appealing to you to get your attention, however I will never support these types of ads. I really hope that people join together to stop these ads from airing!

These types of advertisements are such snakes because the companies blatantly lie to your face and hope that you will believe them and buy their burgers. I have NEVER seen a burger from McDonald’s or burrito from Taco Bell come out to look anywhere near what it looks like on billboards, bus stops, menus or commercials. I know that the old saying, “you get what you pay for” is still valid: a $2 burger should not be expected to look like the fancy, gourmet products that are pictured on the ad.

It is crazy to think that all of the huge fast food restaurants pay a special crew of food stylists, who actually paint the food (sobadsogood.com). These designers and photographers use up all of their energy to create the perfect fake meal to lure you to buy the product. This commercial that is attached is not surprising, because I already knew that it was not accurate to the actual burger you receive, however it is still really disappointing that the company spends millions of dollars to give a salary to people just to deceive the consumer.

I understand that chains like McDonald’s are really trying to drive sales and make the items look as mouth watering as possible, but I think that it is an example of the ugly side of advertising. They should be spending their money on actually improving the items, not improving the Photoshop in the ads! No one wants to feel like they are being fooled and because of that I think that some sort of legislation or law needs to be passed to stop this trickery from happening!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=zGj2eVgWI6Q

Snapchat Gives Brands Their 10 Seconds of Fame

            Lately, it seems like brands will cross into just about any form of social media in order to present their product in the newest, most innovative manner possible. Marketing directors have rapidly adjusted to the latest social media interests of the targeted audience, well-connected college students. Moving past the commonly used and parent-laden Facebook, marketing directors have taken a step in the direction of a fresher form of social media with a risqué reputation, Snapchat.  

           Snapchat, released in September of 2011, gained a huge following in the fall of 2012 and has kept a consistent level of followers since that time. Setting Snapchat apart from other social media forms is its allowance of users to send pictures to other users that will disappear after one to ten seconds, depending on what the sender chooses. It is because of this capability that Snapchat has gained a reputation of facilitating the sending of suggestive photographs between users. With this status, it is easy to see why marketing directors have chosen to connect with Snapchat to endorse their own brands. Snapchat can provide an edgy, young vehicle to present users with announcements, releases, coupon and discount codes, and behind the scenes looks, all at low cost.

            Included in the Snapchat marketing movement are brands Taco Bell, Acura, MTV UK, and clothing e-tailer, Karmaloop. Taco Bell, the first to share Snapchats with fans, used their following on Twitter to generate “friends” on Snapchat. The brand, popular among young adults, created buzz by releasing “VIP” Snapchats to announce the return of a product.

Using Snapchat to advertise in a different manner is the clothing e-tailer, Karmaloop. This brand has utilized Snapchat in a revealing manner, much like a sizeable amount of college-aged users. Karmaloop, hoping to catch some attention, has used Snapchat to distribute not only provocative pictures displaying their clothing, but also images of the new product lines.

            Though it may seem as if Snapchat would not be an ideal method of advertising (given its ten second limit) for some brands, this social media method could actually be a successful technique for other brands with target audiences of collegiate students. Snapchat compliments the impulsive, racy lifestyles of a good number of college students and offers a level of exclusivity that draws in many young people. It will be interesting to see how many brands jump on this form of marketing in comparison to the vast amount of companies that have utilized Facebook and other forms of social media to advertise.