Take a look at this new ad by CoverGirl. Can you figure out why the US's National Advertising Division of the Council of Better Business Bureaus Claims (NAD) has chosen to ban it?
Excessive photoshopping!
Business Insider reports that the NAD has banned print ads for CoverGirl NatureLuxe Mousse Mascara, including the spots featuring celeb spokesmodel Taylor Swift. According to the NAD, the ads made "superior performance claims" such as "2X more volume" and "20 percent lighter" that simply couldn't be substantiated.
The NAD specifically noted that the Swift ad had a disclaimer printed on the bottom that clearly stated, "lashes enhanced in post production."
"You can't use a photograph to demonstrate how a cosmetic will look after it is applied to a woman's face and then -- in the mice type -- have a disclosure that says 'okay, not really,' " NAD director Andrea Levine told Business Insider.
RELATED: Check out Dakota Fanning's BANNED Marc Jacobs ad!
I think it's about time something was done about this. This issue of false advertising has bothered me for YEARS. As a beauty blogger, I'm CONSTANTLY being sent products to try out with the promise of this - and that. We see the ads, we read all the claims of "longer lashes" or "fuller lashes" and 9 times out of 10, nothing ever really lives up to the promise! It has gotten to the point (with me) that I really don't pay much attention to beauty ads at all, because who really believes that stuff anymore? Don't we all just see it as fake?
Maybelline was made to address an similar Photoshop issue earlier this year, when an ad for its anti-aging "Eraser" product used Photoshop instead of the product itself to erase spokesmodel Christy Turlington's dark circles. Britain's ASA banned the ad for misleading consumers.
In fact, Business Insider notes that in banning the Taylor Swift spot, the NAD is specifically trying to follow the ASA's lead. Does that mean we should expect a banned-ad-of-the-week in the US to match Great Britain? Could this be the end of Photoshopping Disasters?
I'm really happy something is finally being done about this trend in advertising. You should not be able to photoshop results. The UK has been banning ads for years, and they take a much more critical stand on false advertising. Hopefully the U.S. will crack down on ads here as strongly!
Who's with me?