I always ask myself, do Ad people really think Photoshop is fooling anyone?

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Sadly, the answer still appears to be yes. I was browsing the front page of Yahoo! and saw an article about a poorly photoshopped picture of a Ralph Lauren model and the public outcry against it. But when I actually clicked on the headline and looked at the picture I couldn't help but laugh. Could anyone really want to look like this person? I don't think she was even supposed to look real. (Link HERE: http://shine.yahoo.com/event/fallbeauty/image-of-ultra-thin-ralph-lauren-model-sparks-outrage-521480/) While I think the fact that women in Ads are retouched to the point of looking inhuman, I also think that people need to stop taking some of these ads so seriously. Advertisers are going to try and make their products look as glossy and desirable as possible, so they are going to keep retouching their models. What's really important is that we as consumers know that they're doing it. If we know that the models, actresses, and singers we see on magazine covers have been cinched, tanned, augmented, and reduced by editing software, we don't have to be fooled into thinking we must look as perfect as them. We already know these people aren't perfect and we're mostly familiar with the process by which they are transformed into tan and glossy people wearing invisible corsets. So why complain that these things are unrealistic and detrimental to society when we shouldn't be buying it in the first place? Granted, there are so many things wrong with the messages being sent through advertising. It says something very sad about our culture when we see how sexualized, sexist, and shallow ads are becoming. It is a problem that should bother people, but I think we'd be looking at the wrong side of the problem if we addressed the Ads instead of the attitudes that inspired the Ads. If advertising is sexist, it's not because ad-men are sexist. It's because they think the average consumer is sexist and will buy their product. Ad people do their research and they know what sells, and if what's selling are the images in ads, then the problem started with the consumers. If we as consumers change our attitude about what "sells", it will reduce the amount of problematic ads like the Ralph Lauren image. I don't blame advertisers for portraying people unrealistically if they think that will make their companies money. They'll continue to do it. Rather than get angry at the advertisers for being rational, we should look at the American consumer culture and the attitudes that it's producing. Educate young women about the fact that these ads are fake so that they stop buying into the lies, educate young men about how sexist attitudes are dominating the media, and ask yourself whether or not you believe everything that you see and hear about a product. As long as consumers are aware of the tricks advertisers are trying to pull, they will eventually change their strategy. Simply attacking ads that are by nature ridiculous hasn't stopped them yet.