Photoshop Effects in Advertising Agencies

Can a common looking woman turn into supermodel? With Photoshop, the answer is yes. Photoshop supreme function enables the advertisers to discard every imperfection found in photographs and enhances the models appearance such as sexy lips and big, attractive eyes.

Ogilvy Toronto, one of the Anti-Photoshop parties, criticised Photoshop on International Women’s Day. In its video entitle “Thought Before Action”, Ogilvy records how it develop a Photoshop tool named “Beautify” that said to be able to give a skin glow effect to models in photographs. The tool is then uploaded on website and spread over the internet by offering a free download. However, the truth behind the trick is when users clicked the button to use the tool, it undo all the changes in the image to its original rather than beautify it. The result of the video which has more than 800,000 views on YouTube is the awareness and information about the art directors, graphic designers and photo retouchers should be blame for digital altering images and change the viewers’ perception. However, there is also a question found in the video, where does the demand for photo retouching come from?

Linda Carte, the vice president and associate creative director at BBDO Toronto stated that most of the images in fashion and beauty have been modified, but the demand for retouching is not created by advertising agencies. In my opinion, the demand of retouching actually comes from our society. We love to look at beautiful things, and that is why the advertisers beautify the models to satisfy our eyes’ demanding to look at beautiful things, to attract more attentions and to gain more profits.

Fabio Apelbaum, a director of graphic arts at a television station, stated that Photoshop is needed in almost all post production project and it is a good thing as it produce excellent result and performance that satisfy their needs. However, he also stated that there is a limit on how much retouching occurs should be done. From his words, I may say that Photoshop is actually a beneficial invention to advertising agencies, but is the advertisers themselves that make Photoshop to be blame nowadays. They must have a basic ethic as an advertiser that do not cheat viewers’ eye by over manipulating the images.

In this digital driven century, there will be more and more supreme software and technologies being invented, some of them may overpass the Photoshop someday. At that time, do the public still able to differentiate the reality of the image? The quick answer from the professionals in the industry is they can’t. It is human that misuse the technologies, not the technologies harm the human. Even if Photoshop is not invented, there still will be other endless technologies that enable advertisers to manipulate the images. In conclusion, It is the ethics of advertising that should be cure, but not the technologies or software.

References:

• Krashinsky, S. (2013) What's behind the culture of Photoshop in advertising. Available at: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/industry-news/marketing/whats-behind-the-culture-of-photoshop-in-advertising/article10111740/. [Accessed 30 July 2013] Annotation: This website has a very detail information about how Ogilvy Toronto show their stands against the action of advertising company using Photoshop to digital altering the model and show fake beauty to the public. 

• Ai InSite. (2010) Picture Imperfect - Digital Image Manipulation Ethics. Available at: http://insite.artinstitutes.edu/picture-imperfect-digital-image-manipulation-ethics-19962.aspx. [Accessed 30 July 2013] Annotation: This website show how a professional in creative industry show different opinion about the invention and usage of Photoshop. It also state the ethic of advertising and how to use the Photoshop correctly.