One of the reasons why I appreciate the rise of social media is that it has forced corporate companies to become more transparent. Word travels fast on social media. And if you’re a company trying to hide something, it won’t be long before your dirty secret released via tweet. Someone will call you out because, online, even the meekest people have huge voices…and those voices are hard to silence. In 2010, Nestle suffered the consequences of trying to squash social media allegations. Animal-lovers claimed that the company was destroying rain forests in order to collect the palm oil used in its products. But the backlash was a force to be reckoned with. Nestle’s Facebook page was blasted with a flood of comments that ultimately led the company to address and change it’s palm oil collection methods.
This week, McDonald’s addressed a question that came from user Isabel M. on Twitter: “Why does your food look different in the advertising than what’s in the store?”
The answer:
I must give a big kudos to McDonald’s for taking on this question. And I also commend them for a lack of sarcasm in the video. Ever heard of food styling anyone? Let’s look at this hypothetical situation: You follow a recipe for a salad that you see on the Food Network. When you put it on your dinner table, does it look like the picture that you saw in the recipe? NO. Because you didn’t take the time to layer each lettuce leaf and chopped topping on the plate in a perfectly random fashion. You tossed it in a bowl and ate up!
Most people know that ads are a labor of love from both photographers and graphic designers who photoshop the hell out of what you see in a magazine or on a billboard. The fact is that we live in a world where we’re sold an image that isn’t always real. I’d like to see you point out Oprah in a line up if she was going au naturel.
So THERE’S your answer, Isabel M.
- Foodies, what is your opinion in this matter?
- Do you think that companies should be more forthcoming with what they’re selling in advertisements? Is this any different than food bloggers photoshopping their food pics?
- By answering the question from Twitter, did McDonald’s do harm or give clout to their company?
Ready….GO!
Photo via jonwoodburyphotography.com
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Well, I would rather eat the one from the restaurant than the one put together by the food stylist! Getting that burger ready for the picture was a lot like me(53 years old) getting ready to go out on the town: assuming I could get an acceptable look after 7 hours, I would be too tired to go.
What a great article! Thank you for sharing this and shedding some light on photostyling (no pun intended, I swear!)
Thank you! Oh, and I’m a fan of puns.