Advertising versus reality

[dianeduane]

This German website, when you click one or another spot on the main image, shows you both the inside and the outside of a package of food — that is, the difference between the “artist’s impression” / “serving suggestion” of a package, and what the contents really look like when you open the package and/or prepare them.

Some really frightening contrasts here and there. This one, for example. Normally I really like Zurcher geschnetzletes. It’s a Swiss dish, native to Zurich: the second word in the name comes from a word meaning to cut something into strips or thin slices. It normally involves strips of veal in a cream sauce with mushrooms (morels if you’re lucky), and it’s served with spaetzli (or other noodles) or rösti. But after seeing this stuff — ewwwww. I think I’m off the ‘schnetzli for a while.

Tags: food, ready+meal, ready+cooked, advertising, inside, outside, Zurich, geschnetzletes, veal, cream, morel, Zurcher

Comments

[corvidophile.livejournal.com]

i was actually surprised at how close some of them were. some of them were downright surprising of course hehe.

and some i'd love to try. going to have to pay a visit to the german market i think.

[antikythera.livejournal.com]

Awesome! I'm enthralled and horrified by these things (http://pundo3000.com/htms/43.htm).

If you haven't read it yet, I highly recommend The Gallery of Regrettable Food (http://www.lileks.com/institute/gallery/) for a good laugh.

[antikythera.livejournal.com]

Also, I'm trying to figure out context and translation for the word hell (http://pundo3000.com/htms/78.htm) on this can of mushrooms. Translation software is not giving me anything that seems relevant to mushrooms. It doesn't look centred -- are there letters airbrushed out?

[xwingace]

'Hell' can mean 'light coloured'. Presumably there are also dark mushrooms, and these are the light coloured ones.

XWA

[antikythera.livejournal.com]

Aaaah. That does make sense.

[dd-b.livejournal.com]

As in the old story about the beer that "looked like dunkel but tasted like hell".

[keristor.livejournal.com]

'Hell' in German means 'bright', one of my favourite phrases was "Die Sonne ist Hell" (I dislike bright sunlight and heat, and do indeed compare it to the netherworld). Bright (in colour) mushrooms, possibly?

[antikythera.livejournal.com]

The translator was actually giving me 'brightly' for the single word out of context. :)

[corvidophile.livejournal.com]

the horrifying thing is i went to a family dinner that used this recipe (http://www.lileks.com/institute/gallery/sevenup2/3.html) to not only marinate the beef roast in 7-up, but made the gravy out of it. was like eating horrible candied beef...with sugary sauce. and that was only one part of the meal. o.0

*tries to stiffle the gag reflex*

[antikythera.livejournal.com]

Oh, wonderful. My mother used to marinate tough steaks in cola. I seem to remember it was actually not bad.

[valkyrwench.livejournal.com]

Eeew. And I looked at that right after I ate lunch...

[xwingace]

Most of those actually seem to come quite close, except for all those lunch/coctail salads (where what's shown on the packaging seems to be just the main component anyway, not the actual salad). What I'm actually most disappointed by is the clear difference in the amounts of actual vegetables in those soups and noodle dishes. The packaging seems to show about ten times more than what is really in there.

XWA

[seity1.livejournal.com]

That made me hungry.

[crustycurmudgeo.livejournal.com]

Hmmm.... I see a lot of photo doctoring going on to make the resulting product look as bad as possible without going to an extreme a novice would notice. Of course, the advert descriptive photos are doctored to look as good as possible.

First, the good pic. Look at the camera elevation. The good shot is from a low angle. The product is also put into a smaller and deeper bowl/plate that looks more nearly filled, giving the impression of an over-filled bowl, one that makes the solids pile up higher, which we find more attractive than a lot of sauce. Also the solids have been arranged to look better, with the unattractive bits moved, and a little green garnish sprinkled on top. The lighting is better too, using a much warmer color temp. The main light is coming from the upper left to back-light the noodles on the fork, making them look translucent. Then there is the added steam wisp that makes one believe it's fresh from the stove.

The bad pic was taken from a higher elevation, with the product in an over-size bowl with more exposed lip making it look skimpy. The shallower depth makes the sauce more prominent. Then the lighting is bad, coming from the right with little 'fill' light from the left and using a blue-ish cast, making the product look cold and dense. Also the contrast is set to the weak side and possibly the gamma has been tweaked to make it look as bland as possible.

I think both pictures have been designed to show the the best and the worst, just like TV's before-and-after shots of people's faces and bodies. It's difficult to standardize how product photos should be taken for advertizing, since it's entirely possible the customer may actually prepare and serve the product in the same way the advertizing shows. Not likely, but possible. Many fine chefs and restaurants owe their fame and success to how well they present the final product rather than the rather limited ways they prepare the dishes.

[marydell.livejournal.com]

This is hilarious. So far this one (http://pundo3000.com/htms/25.htm) is my favorite...it could be anything under all that sauce.

[lady-autumnstar.livejournal.com]

This is not only for frozen "entrees", but for your local fast food. My favorites are the Dueling Sandwich Shops, whose commercials show lovely sandwiches, brimming with delicately placed meats and fresh, crisp lettuce, when the actual thing you get is flat and soggy with one limp lettuce leaf and a few miserly scraps of meat.

Thoughts

[ysabetwordsmith.livejournal.com]

One of my more peculiar talents is making things look like the picture on the box. I can't always do it, but when this works, it's pretty cool. My partner was amazed the first time I did it with those little turnovers-in-a-tube.

[fullyarmdvishnu.livejournal.com]

Thanks for posting this. I sent it (the link) to my old graphic arts teacher. Thanks again.