The famed manufacturer L'Oréal has been forced to pull ad campaigns in the U.K. featuring Julia Roberts and Christy Turlington. The same ads and images are used here in the U.S. It seems that there were complaints that the images were overly airbrushed. Here in the States, we have no such standards and we’re perfectly fine with it. We like to believe that cosmetics are a magic potion, and that yes, a bottle of this, a jar of that, will magically transform us back to pristine 18-year-olds. Can I swap you some magic beans for your cow?
The official British watchdog group, the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), declared that both ads breached the advertising standards code for exaggeration, were being misleading and banned them from future publication. The banning of the ads upholds the idea that ads should accurately depict product claims. If L’Oréal claims that these celebrities look like this due to L’Oreal makeup, but simulated their beauty with photo retouching, the ASA claims an exaggerated claim, and one that is not representative of the results the product could possibly achieve. In truth, on Christy Turlington's and Julia Roberts' worst day, they are more beautiful that the rest of us on our best day.
In addition to the official claims of "exaggeration," women's advocates see highly retouched advertising photos affecting women's self-perception and creating a false sense of real beauty. "Pictures of flawless skin and super-slim bodies are all around, but they don't reflect reality," Liberal Democrat MP Jo Swinson is quoted in the Guardian. "Excessive airbrushing and digital manipulation techniques have become the norm, but both Christy Turlington and Julia Roberts are naturally beautiful women who don't need retouching to look great. This ban sends a powerful message to advertisers…let's get back to reality."
When push came to shove, L'Oréal U.K. admitted that Turlington's image had been "digitally retouched to lighten the skin, clean up makeup, reduce dark shadows and shading around the eyes, smooth the lips and darken the eyebrows". (Just a few things!) However, it claimed there were still signs of aging, such as crow's feet, and that the image "accurately illustrated" the achievable results. Not even the British would dare to comment on Ms. Roberts. Heaven forbid!
I’ve seen the ads, and I can tell you that a baby’s behind has more wrinkles than Julia Roberts' 44-year-old face.
–Ron Knoth, Guest Blogger