Bold Contemplations

Our opinions are formed so early in life and so engrained into our souls, at such early ages, that I think that we will never be able to stop being victims of society. It is good to be aware of these prejudices so that we can correct our thinking and then make someone else aware of how their opinions, likes, dislikes and preferences are formed by the affects of society. Just think of the perfect world that it would be if we accepted everyone at face value.

This just proves my point that we cannot know what is true anymore. All of our public information is lies and deception - we cannot hope to know the truth anymore. All we can rely on is our own perceptions and critical thinking to have any hope. Or we can just stop listenting to the media - but try to go a day without encountering some form of media or advertising - I bet you can't.

I was so proud of Dove for releasing that ad. While we all know the lies perpetrated by the beauty industry, it's refreshing to expose this truth to the world. If only we could get more companies to realise that natural is OK.

What I don't fully understand is what the point of these ads even are (post-production) in the minds(?) of the companies..

It certainly shouldn't be mistaken as an ad for makeup.. it's more an ad for Photoshop, if anything :) (I kind of wondered why they even bothered doing anything but taking her picture as she was when she first sat down; if you're going to completely image-process her, why bother with all the real-world work at all? :) )

Then I thought these companies might be going about this all wrong.. if we just got the girls to wear boxes on their heads, with an LCD up front that would do all that photoshop work "live", then they wouldn't need to put any makeup on at all.. Could just walk around the world, letting everyone see their image-processed self, instead... since all the makeup is trying to head there anyway.. :)

(I'm not a fan of makeup at all, in the first place)

Loki: I too think it is an important question to question the company's motivation. Obviously, their impetus is not wholly altruistic as they also wish to sell cosmetics and beauty aids. So, the whole thing could simply be a business strategy. But Dove does has a history of trying to appeal to the "real" woman as shown by a previous ad campaign which featured "real" women. The sad thing is, the campaign back fired because consumers didn't feel that the "real" women in the ads were appealing enough...

Also, thanks for letting us know that you're not a makeup wearer!

No, I'm not questioning Dove's purpose.. I think it would certainly appeal to "real" women, I agree...

I meant the in-ad ad itself.. and the ones just like it that you see all the time.. Makeup was such a small fraction of what-all they did to her before the final billboard went up, that it doesn't seem right to even call it a makeup ad anymore, since so much of the work was all computer generated anyway :)

Loki: It seems to me that seeing "real" women in ads, appeals less to the "real" woman than you would think.

And, more intersting, the ad isn't about makeup--as far as I know, Dove doesn't sell makeup. It's all about branding and creating an image....

I spose like any advertising, each is trying to hit its own target market.. Dove's video will catch the eye of real women - ones that may already be frustrated by the (unattainable without photoshop?) image that the other companies' ads portray.. And the ads for makeup companies will catch the eye of the women that may well truly believe they can attain what they see in the ads, if they go buy the product that's displayed. In all cases though, what ends up "on the billboard" isn't a result of the product they're selling.

Truth in advertising is something that bothers me a lot, and it's probably part of a larger discussion than you might've intended with this thread :) (Suzanne Somers didn't become a pretty blond by using the Thighmaster, and I'm fairly sure her thighs looked that way before she started using it -- so what are we to take away from the ads? that it'll make you prettier? make your thighs more <something>? or that if, like her, you use the Thighmaster, your thighs will stay "just as they were" like hers did?)

Leads me to somethin else, but I'll save that for its own topic sometime. :)

This video is 100% business strategy. There is no other possible conclusion as to why they would do this. Truth in advertising has been thrown completely out the window in a fiery crash to the ground. The advancement in technology allows the ability for ads to be altered that, on the surface, are not what they seem. This video is a perfect example.

How can anyone perform due dilligence on something like this? Show me the "Real" lady on the billboard!?!?!?!?

That's why I like doing what I do for a living. I can perform due dilligence on everything before I move on my next deal.

Right, I'm not saying I don't understand why Dove created the ad. I haven't been talking about Dove here at all. I'm talking about exactly what Dove was pointing out about other companies' ads. That the in-ad ad was perfectly bogus.. It didn't represent what someone would look like if they used the "fake" company's makeup, even though the fake ad claimed to. They did a great job showing why folks shouldn't believe that the person on the billboard looks that way because of the product it's an advertisement for.

My point is (and Dove's, which I agree with).. if you're going to show what a person looks like after using your product, show that! Don't spend an hour in photoshop and claim that the final result is genuine :)

Saw this clip on the news. I wonder if print models will be out of business soon. Replaced by a machine.

skincareteacher: Thanks for stopping by. I would guess that computer imaging probably will be the future of advertising, seems much more cost effective! However, I don't think humans are ready to identify with cyber-people just yet.

Wow, that's a real eye-opener. I've got to show it to my daughters.

I am also glad to know that Loki does not wear make-up. I would have been really pissed if this whole time I never saw the "real" him.