by Gordon Hamilton

Created on: June 04, 2009   Last Updated: December 31, 2009

There are many reasons why fast food looks better in commercials than it does in person. These reasons range from the gross misnomer that the camera never lies, to the simple time taken in preparing the specific fast food item which will feature in the commercial.

When any company undertakes to make a commercial, their prime consideration is to make their product as attractive to potential customers as possible. This may involve making it appear as visually appealing as possible, it may involve making the service it provides sound as appealing as possible, or it may even involve both of those techniques and more. The object of the commercial is of course to sell the product or service and nothing else.

Commercials for fast food are most often not made in real fast food outlets. They are made in television studios, where careful lighting can be used to make the product appear as attractive as possible. The lens on the camera can even make the burger or portion of fries appear larger than it will actually be in person. The commercial director has such tools and more at his disposal in order to ensure that the potential customer sees the product in its best possible light and is inclined as much as possible to subsequently want to see it and sample it for real.

Fast food restaurants are often extremely busy places, where staff are churning out burger after burger to their demanding customers as fast as their bodies will permit. This means that they can not afford the time to ensure that every burger is perfectly positioned on the bun, with all accompaniments exactly in the right place. They are providing a, "Fast food," service and do not have time for such incidental considerations.

In a commercial, the burgers or equivalent which are to be used in same will be lovingly prepared and constructed without time having to be a constraint. It doesn't even matter if the burger goes cold during this time period as no one is going to eat it anyway. All that matters is that it is as aesthetically pleasing as possible in order to let the camera crew go to work.

The unnatural surroundings of the preparation and photographing or filming of the fast food item to be included in the commercial is therefore essentially the reason why fast food looks better in commercials than in person. The techniques so employed may not be fraudulent but they are misleading and all each of us can do is be aware of them, ensure we are not blinded by them and resolve to make our ultimate judgement only when we see the fast food item in person.

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