Photoshop, should we do it?

Should we Photoshop Ads?

Photoshop has its pros and its cons when it comes to advertising. Some say it could be lying or as I sometimes like to call it, false advertising. But others think it is a good thing because they see it as beneficial.

My point of view depends on the situation. Extreme Photoshop to make women or men look a certain way makes me question how real the models are. Some people with self-esteem issues see these models and think they are supposed to look like that and that’s really unfortunate. The ads can consume young girls with what they feel they should look like. I think it’s a problem because the models probably look better without the effects anyways so why do they do it? Young girls see this, and try to attain the unattainable, but they see it and think its possible when it’s not. Have a look at the Dove ads, they really nailed it by focusing their ads on the products and showing people what beauty truly looks like. I doubt they used a lot if any Photoshop on their models. That is how it should be. But wait, is it? This is where my point of view changes. Dove is actually winning with this unique approach. What if everyone did it? This makes me think, maybe we see the over photo shopping way as a bad thing only because its all we see. What if all we saw was natural beauty? Everything would be the same and there would be no difference in the ads. A variation is good it shouldn’t be fully one way or fully another way, there just needs to be a line. The line should just be to make the photo shopped models look realistic and not set unrealistic expectations for the viewers.

Overall I think Photoshop is good, it has its benefits. When used properly and when the models look real it is appreciated. When they over do it that is where I see the problem. I think the advertisers need to be aware of their viewers and go from there.