Retail

Look At The Shocking Difference Between Fast Food Ads And Real Menu Items

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fast food ads
Alphaila

Food advertising is infamous for the techniques it uses to make items look bigger and better. The fast food industry is no different.

Dario D undertook a lengthy project to compare the pictures shown in fast food ads to the real thing that arrives on your plastic tray. He posted the results on his blog at Alphaila, along with his methodology (via Buzzfeed).

"I brought the food home, tossed it into my photography studio, and did ad-style shoots, with pictures of the official ads on my computer next to me, so I could match the lighting and angles," he writes on his blog. 

Consumers have always known that advertisers have used a bit of creative freedom in their depiction of food, but when you put the pics side-by-side, it's a bit startling. Take a look:

The exercise is purely about the SIZE of the burgers, not the beauty of them. Everything was done from the most attractive angle, like this Whopper

fast food ads
Alphaila

Whoppers are one of the most squished types of burgers he found

fast food ads
Alphaila

He even asked for these Whoppers to be made specifically like the ones in the ads. They didn't turn out much better

fast food ads
Alphaila

The Whopper Jr. is no different

fast food ads
Alphaila

The shells on these Taco Bell tacos seem the same, but not the amount of stuff packed inside them

fast food ads
Alphaila

These were the largest Jack In The Box tacos available, he says in the post

fast food ads
Alphaila

The McDonald's Angus in the ad is gargantuan

fast food ads
Alphaila

In fact, it's so big that it wouldn't even be able to fit in the box it's supposed to be served in

fast food ads
Alphaila

The Big Mac almost passes the size test

fast food ads
Alphaila

But again, the ones in the ads wouldn't be able to fix in the box

fast food ads
Alphaila

The big winner? McDonald's Big N' Tasty performed up to par

fast food ads
Alphaila

Now learn about the most infamous sandwich of all

mcrib
http://www.flickr.com/photos/thesussman/6305271621/

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Kim is the retail editor at Business Insider, covering big box, apparel, e-commerce and restaurants. Previously he worked for a financial and strategic management consulting firm. He is also currently a part-time graduate student in Business and Economic Reporting at New York University. Kim holds an MBA in Strategic Management from Pace University and a BSc in Business Administration from Sacred Heart University.