Myth of the Photographic Truth Assignment

Cropped image of attractive young woman with what looks like beer

Original photo taken from a NON-ALCOHOLIC beer ad of attractive young PREGNANT woman

This photo has been completely altered by cropping out the woman's pregnant stomach and the words "non-alcoholic nova schin." When cropped and taken out of context, the photograph has no shock value, it is simply an image of a young attractive woman with a beverage that looks like beer. If the viewer never sees the original then they might pass by this ad due to lack of creativity. This comparison relates to the myth of photographic truth because the meaning of the image completely changes when cropped. The original ad is unusual and eye-catching because it puts two very opposite concepts together (being able to drink, although non-alcoholically, while pregnant). The cropped version is not presenting any innovative ideas at all because many alcohol ads feature young attractive women. Context greatly affects how viewers respond to advertising. In this case, even the target audience of the ad will most likely change. The original ad tries to convince pregnant women that may enjoy social drinking that they can still enjoy Nova Schin without harming their unborn babies. The cropped ad will most likely appeal to a younger target audience of male beer-drinkers who are drawn in based on the image of the young woman.

Here's another cropped image that I did not alter but found to be very context sensitive:

Clearly you can not always trust a photograph!