Customers have made it clear that they no longer want to see photoshopped or retouched advertising – and brands are finally listening.
US beauty and pharmacy superstore CVS has pledged to put an end to featuring beauty ads in which the appearance of models has been digitally altered, introducing new guidelines that strive for what company officials call “transparency for beauty imagery”.
CVS Pharmacy aims to end touch ups of its beauty images in its marketing campaigns by the end of 2020. Alternatively, the company is cashing in on a trend of promoting natural beauty and self-acceptance in ad campaigns to appeal to female shoppers.
“In the last year we have heard this growing chorus of women wanting to have a conversation about body imagery,” Helena Foulkes, the president of CVS Pharmacy, said in a statement to the press.
“We all want to be reflected in a true fashion; we want to see photos that seem real and authentic,” she said. “To do so, CVS will not alter the shape, size, or proportion of the model’s face, remove lines, or enhance it in any way. ”
However CVS is not the first beauty brand who have decided to leave their images untouched. As reported in our previous articles, fashion retailers such as Missguided and ASOS have also opted for the Au Natural approach in their campaigns, by leaving their model’s blemishes and stretch marks untouched and on full display in order to endorse the beauty of real women.
CVS is also urging brands sold in their stores to do the same – or face repercussions. With brands and beauty suppliers such as Procter & Gamble, Johnson & Johnson, Unilever, L’Oreal, Maybelline and CoverGirl owner Coty sold in CVS stores, the move calls on these brands to also implement these changes.
And as one of the nation’s largest beauty product sellers, with women making up 80 per cent of the brand’s consumers, CVS’s choice is an important step in creating a transparent future where unrealistic beauty standards are not reinforced.
We can only hope now that other brands follow in their inspirational footsteps in order to encourage and endorse the natural beauty of real people.
> Maria Collins
CVS to Put an End to Digitally Altered Beauty Images
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