How CGI technology took the truth and fun out of advertising

“Truth in advertising is becoming a misnomer because of the rise of computer-generated imagery (CGI) in TV commercials” says a new report out today.

This may seem like news from the ‘bleeding obvious’, but it’s actually astonishing to know how often we are fooled by technology. At least 80 to 90% of ads actually contain some CGI, especially car ads (which unfortunately means that Citroen doesn’t actually make a dancing robot car).

Computers have been used for years to create fantasy images and improve landscapes in ads, creating generic cityscapes and inserting well-known landmarks into the background. But the question on the consumer’s lips now is “why use trickery”?

Last April, it was revealed that magazines could be banned from using airbrushed photographs of celebrities that make them look slimmer over fears that they were promoting unrealistic body images.

Editors from glossy publications including Vogue, Hello! and Elle had a meeting, the Periodical Publishers Association (PPA) was there too, but what was the result? Nothing.

Perhaps the real truth hit consumers in the face when Dove revolutionised beauty advertising with its ‘Real Beauty’ campaign, showing consumers what really went on. But consumers can’t tell us now that they are actually shocked by the use of CGI?

The thing is that CGI (and those geeks that sit in dark rooms creating it for hours) has become so life-like that car manufacturers can avoid the cost of building prototypes of new models and shipping them to other countries to be filmed. Instead, entire vehicles are being rendered in 3D to create commercials where nothing is real. Nothing. Is this deceit?

CGI is not always obvious; but that is kind of the point.
Advertisers can obviously achieve more interesting effects in CGI. And let’s face it, ads that ‘wow’ us, are the ones that tend to work.

So how many ads are fully computer-generated? Up to 20% at the most, according to one expert, as CGI can be more “convenient”.

A lot of the time CGI is used to achieve “fantastic”, but more and more it’s becoming simply an easier way of working – sitting in that dark room as opposed to being on location, paying actors, cameramen etc.

And as brands continue to have more of a global reach, CGI is often used to adapt ads from elsewhere. So if you’re taking an ad from another market, you can replace the pack shot in it with the local pack shot using nothing but CGI.

But in the end, CGI won’t replace a good original idea and if you want something to be warm and emotional, CGI probably doesn’t cut it. Consumers want the truth, and it just happens to be the only way to trust.