Rimmel Ad Banned in Britain
By Glinda
This ad, for Rimmel’s 1-2-3 Mascara has been banned in Britain from both television and print. The Advertising Standards Authority believes that even though there is a small disclaimer a the bottom of the ad that states false lashes were used for the photos, Rimmel did not go far enough to warn women that their eyelashes may not quite look like the ones in the photo.
Rimmel claims that they had to use false eyelashes because, you know, it’s a picture. And pictures, they aren’t very clear. The only way for them to effectively show the three possible looks was to enhance the model’s eyelashes.
That, says Glinda, is a load of bollocks.
Pictures these days tend to be very clear indeed, and if the product does what they claim it does, there should have been no need for “enhancement.”
Seriously, though, does anyone really believe advertising any more? With the advent of Photoshop, I am dubious of any and all makeup claims. Even if Rimmel hadn’t admitted to the false eyelashes, I still would have looked at the picture and said, “yeah, right.” I also would have said, “why in the world does the model keep progressively opening her mouth?
I’m a deep thinker like that.
November 29th, 2010 at 10:23 am
In answer to your deep thought query, she keeps opening her mouth so you’ll be reminded she’s a Jagger (the teeth, not so much the lips, are definitely her father’s).
If you read Paula Begoun, you know that ALL mascara ads involve false lashes on their models. Every single one. Without exception. And that’s been the norm since mascara’s been advertised in all media. Why? Because they really don’t photograph so well unless you do extreme close-ups (which doesn’t always work with the selling concept) and because you can have the model apply the mascara to the fake lashes to make the product appear more effective.
November 29th, 2010 at 11:33 pm
@aurumgirl- I could so totally care less that she is Mick Jagger’s daughter, which is why I didn’t even mention it.
As for Paula Begoun, I did read her many years ago, she rocks. I don’t care what the industry thinks, I think it is false advertising to use fake lashes. I disagree with the inability to photograph them well. I think if we can get crystal clear pictures of hummingbirds in midflight and pictures of galaxies thousands of light years away, I’m thinking eyelashes are not so hard.
And I was really talking about all makeup ads in general being fake-looking. I’ve seen some M.A.C. ads that were just pure fantasy. Yeah, I’m sure the product sort of looks that way on a real person, but not really. I don’t rely on advertising photos at all to choose my beauty products. More word of mouth.
November 30th, 2010 at 8:55 am
All make up ads are fake looking! They’re all about fantasy. Photoshop just makes the job quicker and makes it easy to accomplish with just one person, so you don’t need to pay someone to develop the film, another to manually touch it up or alter it, pass it on to a pricey layout artist who’ll crop the photo, and rely on a publisher to finally put it out there.
What really matters to us is: how does the product really perform? Does it last? Does it do what it’s supposed to do better than other, similar products? Is it affordable and/or worth it’s cost? Does it flatter and enhance?
Nobody really believes their lashes are going to “lengthen” to look like falsies–not without some major eye-irritating filaments that will break off and shower themselves all over the under-eye area and the under-contact area. But if the mascara colours the lashes well, separates the lashes so that they look more abundant, curls them up so that they look a bit longer, and then stays put until it easily washes off…then that’s what will sell. For me, I like a bit of subtle colour–like a nice plum or auburn-y coloration that will make my pupils more green. I don’t know why that colour is so elusive and so costly. If I could find a mascara that colour at a reasonable price–it would earn my undying product loyalty.
December 21st, 2010 at 11:30 pm
I agree with the UK policies on ads. I teach and many of my students really do believe what they see is real. My fellow faculty and I are usually shocked when we overhear their conversation. We have years of education and unfortunately are viewed as less reliable than MTV, BET, or VH1. We a student announced that she believed there really was a treasure map on the back of the Declaration of Independence, a la National Treasure, I had to be picked up off the floor. I won’t reveal what state I am in for fear of laughter but ladies I must worn you. Be afraid, be very afraid.