Starting in April 2018, Convenience, Value and Service (CVS) Pharmacy will no longer photoshop advertisements for their own beauty products.
All imagery and photos used for displays in CVS stores or their print advertisements will now have what they are calling a ‘CVS Beauty Mark’ which will communicate to shoppers that a photo altering program has not been used on the image.
In an interview with PEOPLE Magazine a representative for CVS said they will “no longer change or enhance a person’s size, shape, proportion, skin or eye color, wrinkles or any other individual characteristics in imagery created for their stores, websites, social media and marketing materials.”
CVS said their goal is to make sure all of the imagery for their beauty section will be authentic and have no material or digital alteration by the end of 2020.
“As a purpose-led company, we (CVS) strive to do our best to assure all of the messages we are sending to our customers reflect our purpose of helping people on their path to better health,” Helena Foulkes, President of CVS Pharmacy and Executive Vice President of CVS Health, said in a press release.
There is an argument made that by getting rid of photoshopped advertisements and promotional material, CVS is giving all consumers a collective reality check and making a statement about loving one’s body the way it is.
However, the way they’re wording it is misleading. CVS may not be using Photoshop on models, but surely they still have to use some kind of edit or filter for lighting and background after a photoshoot. Otherwise, they won’t have advertising-quality images.
This does seem to be a step in the right direction, promoting self-love and positivity even if it is being used once again as a marketing ploy. However, just because a brand is telling people to love themselves the way they are, it does not mean that people will stop striving to become that perfect ideal.
With more brands every day such as ASOS, Misguided, Aerie and now CVS coming out against the use of Photoshop as a common practice in the beauty industry, it is only a matter of time before other brands join this crusade against the digitally altered image in advertising.
Story By
Carlee Jo Blumenthal
opinion@suunews.com
Photo By
Unsplash
Clem Onojeghuo for SUU News
