Retouched Advertising

Retouching photography in advertising has long been a hot debate, especially in beauty campaigns.  Many brands have been built on beautifully retouched photography and many other brands have also been built on the fact that they don't retouch their beautiful women.

Well it appears that one particular brand may have crossed the line.  Admittedly retouched adverting for L'Loreal featuring (the original pretty woman) Julia Roberts and (one of the original super models) Christy Turlington was just pulled (in the UK) for allegedly going too far.  The argument is that both of these women are incredibly beautiful enough to not be retouched, and that the retouching actually exaggerates the results anyone would get from using the products.  And that the beauty industry, by the way, creates unreasonable expectations by showing unattainable beauty --- or at least that's the argument presented.

Wow, that's a lot.  Is it all true? ... Some of it I am sure.  Is that the way that marketing works? ...  In some ways I suppose.  Is it a natural by-product of the beauty industry? ... Perhaps.

Bottom line?  We should be honest.

We should show results that are attainable.  As brands we should show ourselves in our best light, certainly, but we should be honest.  Going too far is going too far and is not what marketers should do (nor do I believe it's what most marketers really want to do).  I don't think the brand managers probably even did it consciously.  It looks like a process that just got too carried away.  It's one of those "a little more, a little more, a little more" and before you know it .... It's a very slippery slope.  And a very fine balance that has to be struck.  I'm in the beauty business, and face it every single day.

But I do think it's good that it was second-guessed and then removed.  What's your experience?  Jim.