Beginning with 40,000 year-old, prehistoric cave paintings, humans have used images to communicate (Ocean Media). Even after the invention of written language, pictures have retained their singular power as the most effective form of emotional communication for the masses. In advertising, a picture truly is worth a thousand words. And, photographs are among the most potent images of all. Advertising “asks [the viewer] to go somewhere, do something, try something, buy something, accept some single idea, add a new word—generally a product’s trade name to [their] vocabulary, and associate positive images with that word” (Jamieson and Campbell 318). Being that the purpose of advertising is to sell products by engaging viewers, advertisers must
…show more content…
It is deceptive, giving viewers a false sense of reality. And, when it comes to changing the human form, it has a negative impact on self-image. Fed up with the damage that Photoshop was having on public mental health, “computer scientists [worked] out a way to quantify the amount of Photoshopping in an image in order to impose a universal 'health warning' on the images” (Snead). Despite much negative conversation, there still remain several people, especially those working in the advertising industry, who come to Photoshop’s defense. In an article from Vogue UK, “model Erin Heatherton defended Victoria’s Secret’s use of Photoshop in its advertising campaigns” by arguing that the company is “not selling reality, [they are] selling a story. It's all about creating this fantasy” and ultimately, “Photoshop makes things look beautiful just as you have special effects in movies. It's just a part of life" (Karmali). People rarely consider the damaging effects of Photoshop because it has become a foundational aspect of the industry. An advertiser’s number one priority is making money, not necessarily worrying about the mental wellbeing of the audience. Despite Heatherton’s positive feelings, even she “agreed that altering a model's body to make her waist appear slimmer or legs appear longer is ‘not a fair message’”
It is deceptive, giving viewers a false sense of reality. And, when it comes to changing the human form, it has a negative impact on self-image. Fed up with the damage that Photoshop was having on public mental health, “computer scientists [worked] out a way to quantify the amount of Photoshopping in an image in order to impose a universal 'health warning' on the images” (Snead). Despite much negative conversation, there still remain several people, especially those working in the advertising industry, who come to Photoshop’s defense. In an article from Vogue UK, “model Erin Heatherton defended Victoria’s Secret’s use of Photoshop in its advertising campaigns” by arguing that the company is “not selling reality, [they are] selling a story. It's all about creating this fantasy” and ultimately, “Photoshop makes things look beautiful just as you have special effects in movies. It's just a part of life" (Karmali). People rarely consider the damaging effects of Photoshop because it has become a foundational aspect of the industry. An advertiser’s number one priority is making money, not necessarily worrying about the mental wellbeing of the audience. Despite Heatherton’s positive feelings, even she “agreed that altering a model's body to make her waist appear slimmer or legs appear longer is ‘not a fair message’”