The above image is the advertisement I have chosen to write my analysis on. As a matter of fact this advertisement was in fact banned from the UK for being too unrealistic with the use of Photoshop.
We now live in a society where looks and appearance are everything to a lot of people, in the past the focus was heavily on women however the pressures of looking ones best is also being put on to men; with the increase of male products being brought out along with clever ads insinuating that they need these items or products. This has been the result of consumerist advertisements being in the public eye for many years. If the society we lived in didn't have a necessity for these things then ultimately there would be no such thing as make up in this instance, because people would just generally be happy in there own skin. 'In no other form of society in history has there been such a concentration of images, such a density of visual messages' (Berger, Ways of Seeing p.g 129) As we live in a culture surrounded by visual media thus puts pressure on both males and females to aspire to the glamour and the beauty that is forced in our faces on an everyday basis. The advertisers of beauty products use this to there advantage of living in a society that ignore the small print and in a sense the laziness of our society makes looking at images the easier option then reading. In essence once seeing image they believe they will become just like that image or reflect that image due to the consumerism within our society, and what it has brainwashed us into believing.
The advertisement also highlights 'problem' areas that the product will 'erase' such as crows feet, dark circles and fine lines' but if it wasn't for these advertisements who says that these areas are problem areas when every person eventually has the same so called problems. 'A person may notice a particular image or piece of information because it corresponds to some particular interest he has' (Berger, Ways of Seeing, p.g 130) although the highlighted issues within the advertisements aren't necessarily interests like a hobby they are an interest in a sense that the majority of public would be interested in hiding these so called flaws on there face. The advertisers have edited the image to take an already beautiful women to give the illusion that these issues would be erased by contrasting her natural face with editing of smoother softer looking skin. One could argue that this is false advertisement because people are well aware that no matter how many cosmetics products you use the natural ageing of ones skin will obtain these so called imperfections yet so many people are made to believe that this product will hide this. This begin emphasised by the clever use of wording such as '7 years of research 3 patents' but without reading the imagery clearly attempts to trick you into believing it.
'Publicity persuades us of such a transformation by showing us people who have apparently been transformed and are, as a result, enviable. The state of being envied is what constitutes glamour. And publicity is the process of manufacturing glamour.' (Berger, Ways of seeing, p.g 131)
The advertisement plays on the idea of natural competition, everyone striving to be better then the next person, if you have the above flaws it makes you less of a person to be envied or admired therefore you are not intact worthy. Due to the consumerism and the penultimate vanity of this society advertisers play on this within there advertising campaigns for beauty products that it increases the ideology who can be better which enforces people to but things. 'It proposes to each of us that we transform ourselves, or our lives, by buying something more' (Berger, Ways of seeing) Community and society buy into competition.
Ultimately the deeper picture is that you can put this make up on now but as soon as you take it off the so called problem still lies, it may not be an issue for a day and one may tell themselves that they are more beautiful by putting on this mask and 'erasing' the problem but ultimately it will never go away. 'Publicity images also belong to the moment in the sense that they must be continually renewed and made up to date. Yet they never speak of the future' (Berger) This is an incredibly depressing thought that these false needs means that one can never actually be happy because the 'problem' is not a permanent solution and because of this advertisements are ruining societies belief in themselves; and the vicious circle will carry on through generations and generations because it is instilled in every one no matter where you may go.
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