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Fast Food: Ads vs. Reality

thewvsr.com — Check out the difference in how they advertised the product and what you really got. Each item was purchased, taken home, and photographed immediately. Nothing was tampered with, run over by a car, or anything of the sort. It is an accurate representation in every case.

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  • MCMookie, on 10/12/2007, -31/+100I unno, that big mac looks pretty good.
    • krets, on 10/12/2007, -16/+121I liked this quote at the bottom:

      "This is an ongoing Pulitzer-caliber project. Check back for updates!"

      ORLY?
    • twertyto, on 10/12/2007, -44/+6Seriously, I'm a hit me some KFC after this. The pics of the food did not that bad other than the Taco Bell nachos. That was a recent change though. It looked better good back when they used to put green onions on it.

      Also notice how the pictures are a bit out of focus to help their point.
    • TheUngod, on 10/12/2007, -35/+23I agree with those nachos looking disgusting. I'd hate to end up with a plate of chips that looked like someone leaked ass all over them.
    • G-RaZoR, on 10/12/2007, -35/+10@ krets: YA RLY
    • Eldorian, on 10/12/2007, -31/+5No Wai
    • greatkingrat85, on 10/12/2007, -12/+45All that done is made me hungry.

      It's also how celebrities work.

      Which has made me realise that a hamburger gets treated better than I do. =(
    • AJH16, on 10/12/2007, -10/+56Personally, I didn't think that most of them looked that bad. A few of them only didn't look like their pictures because of shoddy lighting and photography.
    • LogicBomB, on 10/12/2007, -4/+366I don't know if anyone cares but here are a few tidbits from working at McDonalds:

      - Any breakfasts with round-eggs are actually eggs. They are cracked into a circular cookie-cutter platter.
      - Any breakfasts with folded-eggs are "egg product". Not saying it's not real egg but it comes from a carton, not a shell
      - Chicken McGrills and Crispy Chicken are NEVER ordered - insist they make you a fresh one. This is a common request and you'll be told it might take 5 minutes (crispy) to 7 minutes (mcgrill)
      - 1/4 pound meat is rarely ordered outside of lunch hour, ask for it fresh if you are going in at odd hours
      - Bacon sits out forever if it's not at breakfast, order it fresh.
      - If you are on the go and HATE ketchup packets (like me), request a sunday lid (essentially a little cup) and a medium drink top. Fill the lid with ketchup, turn the drink top upside down and it forms a perfect seal.
      - Speaking of sunday lids, request some mac sauce or mayo in them as well. Very common requests.
      - Ask for fries with no salt if you prefer. They will make a new batch for you and give them to you unsalted.
      - I have no idea why but many people order "big mac cheese burgers". I've never tried it, looks disgusting but by all means if you are high and want to be creative...
      - If you see a cashier run into the back quickly, ask if they were helping with the food. It's unbelievable the amount of cashiers (mostly the cross-trained ones) who will handle the dirtiest money on the planet and then run in back to help finish up a few burgers during a rush. That's sick. Request a new one.

      If I think of more I'll add.
    • mccrusc, on 10/12/2007, -2/+133See, that's why I like chinese restaurants. They always have pictures of their actual food on the menu. It may look gross, but at least it's the real thing.
    • Smuikas, on 10/12/2007, -5/+36The pictures are a little bit out of focus. The food, though, is still smooshed, overly melted, and generally doesn't have that "fresh" look to it.

      I used to eat fast food twice a day. Hardees (greasy southern burger chain, nearly identical to Carl's Jr), Cookout (southern charbroil drive thru place - great barbeque), Wendy's, typically. Occasionally subway. That was in North Carolina.

      Moved to NYC and haven't eaten typical fast food in months. Deli fresh sandwiches, delivery sushi/greek/italian/pizza/burgers/pretty-much-anything-else-you-would-ever-want, and good food from local owners. It still saddens me to see a bigger crowd in the mcdonalds than in the family owned souvlaki diner across the street.
    • thedobber, on 10/12/2007, -8/+135Funny thing is, they almost all look the same exiting my system.

    • Reziarfg, on 10/12/2007, -5/+83@logicbomb:
      I'm no expert on McDonalds, but some of those pointers seem like invitations for their less moral employees to spit on your food. I don't think some of those underpaid workers enjoy cooking up new batches of everything.
    • LogicBomB, on 10/12/2007, -2/+158The workers in the back don't care enough to spit in your food. I worked there twice for over a year total and there was never a single incident of sabotage. In fact, I'm happy to say that at both McDonalds I worked for there is a very anal approach to food quality. If it hits the floor, it's thrown out, you wash your hands before doing anything with food, etc. If you forget you get bitched at by like 3 different people (co-workers included).

      Fact is, you work 8 hours doing the same repetitive tasks and you take an assembly-line approach to work: You do what you do and you turn your brain off. You hear "make a new *this*" and there is no "why?" there is just "okay" and you do it to get it off your plate and move on.

      Everything I said are VERY common requests. It really helps that the people in the front RARELY talk to the people in the back. The people in the back don't care about the customers because we don't deal with them, the people in the front don't care about the food because they are too busy dealing with the customers. It works REALLY well at keeping everyone in a constant state of "turn your brain off and do the job".
    • lava, on 10/12/2007, -4/+96Food photography by an amateur always looks unappetizing. As they say in the business, if you can shoot food, you can shoot anything.
    • rix0r, on 10/12/2007, -11/+9I unno either. Everything looks pretty good!
    • viking, on 10/12/2007, -9/+6a newborn able to operate a camera and type *sigh* they grow up so fast don't they...

      there are few things sold to consumers that actually look like what was shot...most food *especially* is shot under studio conditions and are *mostly* shot to show what goes into the food...like the sprinkles of cheese instead of the melted on the right...since most people don't read and it's cheaper/easier to show then to list what's in an item...I mean shoot a burger "animal style" and you'll get people constantly asking WTF it is and what's in it :)...hence the common tagline "actual product may vary" :D
    • LogicBomB, on 10/12/2007, -4/+84There was a show a while ago called "secrets revealed" (before the "how was it made" or "how did they do that" trend).

      They showed a photo shoot for a burger and a turkey dinner. The turkey was 100% raw to hold it's shape, painted with a wood stain to get the color, and hand-iron steamed in 1 pre-made slice so that when they open it up on the commercial it looks cooked and the right, juice color.

      For the burger they hand-crafted it, had perfectly shaped lettuce, used squeeze bottles to apply the condiments that spilled out at JUST the right places, sprayed the lettuce with a mister to look crisp, held together by about 1000 toothpicks so nothing moved, etc...

      After that show I never looked at food ads the same.
    • Hillsfar, on 10/12/2007, -2/+41There's a whole science and art behind dressing up food for the camera.

      When you see what appear to be droplets of water on lettuce leaves, or glistening meat, they're actually using glycerin, which reflects light well, holds shape better, and don't evaporate as easily under hot lights. The meat is often hand-formed from larger patties than they use in the restaurants.

      The unmelted cheese can be made of plastic or rubber.
    • Daniel001, on 10/12/2007, -4/+59What! You mean these companies use professional shots to advertise their food? This is a scandal.
    • JettaMan, on 10/12/2007, -8/+12Looking through those has me drooling. Damn those look good, both left and right sides.
    • ryansw, on 10/12/2007, -45/+11@Logicbomb

      I am a store manager at McDonalds. Not saying I am proud of it, but it pays my mortgage and car payments, so I do it. Your information is out of date.Chicken products are some of the most popular since the launch of the salads and "wraps". Bacon is used on many regular menu products and is used quickly. Round eggs are real eggs, just formed in a ring -- folder egg (PWE) is just a carton of eggs that has been mixed up already, you can buy that product at the grocery store. Also, times have changed a lot -- believe it or not a huge push for "quality over speed" has been the norm for the last two years. We have added many quality products to our line up (Iced Coffee -- mmmm, Cinnamon Melts, Premium Salads and Premium Chicken Sandwitches), that allow customers to make healthier choices if they prefer to.

      Also, if you were my employee I would fire your ass for being so ***** picky about every thing -- if you worked there, it seems like you'd want to make it easy on your x-co workers, not be a pain in the ass.

    • qwertydvorak, on 10/12/2007, -2/+38@smuikas: "It still saddens me to see a bigger crowd in the mcdonalds than in the family owned souvlaki diner across the street."

      does the souvlaki diner have a $1 menu ? i think your answer may lie somewhere in that.
    • shadus, on 10/12/2007, -2/+8I was pretty impressed with how good the taco bowl and the filet of fish looked really, they're damn similar mostly only lighting changes and garnishment slightly nicer in the photograph.
    • videokrazy, on 10/12/2007, -1/+11I don't really eat fast food anymore but... the other day I stopped by Checkers and ordered the double beef western burger(or something like that). When I got the burger it looked so close to the picture that I held it up to see the difference. I found out that when a burger looks like the picture it's really hard to get into your mouth so I squished it anyway. So I guess those guys are helping us out after all.
    • LogicBomB, on 10/12/2007, -2/+57@ryan - Firstly, I was one of 3 employees who did our ***** jobs. I didn't stand there with a dumb look on my face when there were more orders than screen space to show them. I did the ***** job and I did it well.

      Secondly, unless things have changed, you take what's sitting on the tray, cut it up and throw it ontop of the salad. Maybe it is used more often now but I still guarantee it's not used quickly during off-peak hours. If you sold 1 salad every half hour during off-peak hours, that's still a piece of meat sitting on a tray for 30 minutes. It sits there because it's used on very few menu items.

      Oh, and bacon is not used on a single main-menu item (In Canada, where I live anyway). You know those items with the numbers next to them? The standard "give me a 3 with coke" items? None of them have bacon unless you request it.

      And lastly, who ***** CARES about how easy it is on the employees? I'm always 100% polite to every person I speak to but you better believe I'll ask for fresh meat to be cooked if I suspect its been sitting there for a while. I want hot food prepared the way I want it and you'll do your ***** job and supply it to me with a smile.
    • badave, on 10/12/2007, -2/+9Where's Jack in the Box?
    • adamjbuckland, on 10/12/2007, -2/+5you wouldn't want to eat any of the ad stuff though.. they put a shiny varnish on them that's poisonous i think (or not good for you anyway)
    • edeliz, on 10/12/2007, -10/+5Myspace Ads http://a712.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/12/l_fbe6ff135b037f418040c0de8519c04f.jpg

      vs

      Reality
      http://media.collegepublisher.com/media/paper195/stills/8ve057er.jpg (Don't click if you have just ate.. You have been warmed.)
    • dielawn, on 10/12/2007, -11/+2"I liked this quote at the bottom:

      "This is an ongoing Pulitzer-caliber project. Check back for updates!"

      ORLY?"

      YA SRSLY
    • Xadrian79, on 10/12/2007, -3/+24@logicbomb: "...very anal approach to food..."

      I generally prefer approaching food with my other end first.
    • z0l0pht, on 10/12/2007, -1/+6I worked at a Wendy's for about 2 years combined, during high school. Most of the food has the potential to look exactly like what they show in the commercials, but it is prepared in a hurry so it always looks thrown together. I'm happy to say that in my entire fast food career, I never encountered one act of "sabotage". No spitting, no picking food off the floor, nothing. The only thing I request at fast food places nowadays is fresh fries; I think it was 7 minutes after they are made that they start tasting bad.
    • missflibbles, on 10/12/2007, -8/+4wrong reply
    • AnotherThought, on 10/12/2007, -2/+0that whopper looks like it's been dropped a couple times while in wrap... i always like whopper but hated when it felt like someone squeezed it and all the juice come out on the side as soon as i take my first bite...
    • SwissCamel, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5If they'd all looked exactly like the picture we'd only have some dick whining about how food is being tampered with and designed to look perfect.
    • ReyX, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2@Reziarfg

      "Yeah I'll have a uh liter of cola..."
    • defectDS, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2Is it just me or do all of the advertised hamburgers look they want to... talk to me?
    • cwhitaker, on 06/03/2008, -3/+9http://www.duggmirror.com
    • cheez, on 10/12/2007, -2/+2@Reyx
      liter is french for give me some freakin cola
    • mtomovich, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2...I'm thinkin Arby's
    • wphj, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1It's a cool idea, but do they not have a camera that can focus properly?
  • chingy1788, on 10/12/2007, -21/+7mmm fattening

    also thats why they call it fast food, no time for presentation

    though I do like the occasional fillet-o-fish
    • h00paj00, on 10/12/2007, -16/+10And that one looked closest to it's advertised picture.
    • firepowered, on 10/12/2007, -14/+4what the hell do you expect? they are mass manufactured from china and hot off the production line.
    • Ouze, on 10/12/2007, -3/+46@h00p - Agreed - the filet of fish does look the closest to the same. Both are presented as a highly processed brick of quasi-meat of dubious origin and species, smeared with a thick white paste suitable for removing rust from farm machinery, on a bun manufactured in a way that is an gross insult to wheat, packaged together, not meant for feeding to dogs in fourth world countries... and they do so equally.
    • h00paj00, on 10/12/2007, -5/+15ouze: What do you have against a square brick of pressed cod and/or haddock?
    • kitwaites, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5I used to work as a manager for a chain of bowling alleys. We used to get the head of food coming in from Head Office and he would turn out food just like the pics - problem is, it took him 2 hours of prep to do the vegetables etc so of course some 16 year old on minimum wage won't do such a good job... unless they're cooking for a manager, in which case you'll get enough burger, bacon and cheese to cause an instant heart attack!
    • muchachoburacho, on 10/12/2007, -2/+5@h00p
      Im pretty sure they don't use Cod or Haddock at McDonalds. At best its cheap fish with a bunch of filler.
    • orphean, on 10/12/2007, -2/+5@muchachoburacho
      Im pretty sure they don't use Cod or Haddock at McDonalds. At best its cheap fish with a bunch of filler.

      ORLY?

      Fish Filet Patty:
      Fish filet (Hoki and/or Pollock), water, food starch-modified, yellow corn flour, bleached wheat flour, salt, whey, dextrose, dried yeast, sugar, sodium polyphosphate, potassium polyphosphate, cellulose gum, paprika and turmeric extract (color), natural flavors (plant source). Prepared in Vegetable Oil ((may contain one of the following: Canola oil, corn oil, soybean oil, hydrogenated soybean oil, partially hydrogenated soybean oil, partially hydrogenated corn oil with TBHQ and citric acid added to preserve freshness), dimethylpolysiloxane added as an antifoaming agent). Prepared with grill seasoning (salt, black pepper). CONTAINS: FISH (HOKI OR POLLOCK), WHEAT AND MILK

      http://www.mcdonalds.com/app_controller.nutrition.categories.ingredients.index.html

      So you have... fish. Then some fairly normal ingrediants for the breading, along with a couple of preservatives to help with freezer burn and shelf life.

      C'mon. Not that the mcfish is good for you, but its not like its a big brick of filler :P
    • cardboard, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Isn't pollock the same stuff they make imitation crab meat out of?
  • MackDiesel2010, on 10/12/2007, -2/+188The Burger King sits on a throne of lies
    • Ouze, on 10/12/2007, -17/+2Mackdiesel, it could not have been said better.
    • Trax78, on 10/12/2007, -12/+4That Mac looks like frozen TV food put in the microwave.
    • 98acura, on 10/12/2007, -15/+4@MackDiesel2010 (#6200004)
      The burger king sits on the throne of creepy sex offenders.
    • zybch, on 10/12/2007, -2/+10I dunno. Those Wendys/Taco Bell 'meals' look like they've already been eaten by someone!
      However, most pizzas also look this way.
    • orientis, on 10/12/2007, -1/+34Every cheeseburger I bought from McDonald's in Tokyo looked exactly like the picture.
    • The_Wallbanger, on 10/12/2007, -2/+4The Whopper isn't even close to an accurate representation. In the marketing photo the Whopper includes leaf lettuce, but in reality it's only iceberg lettuce. What gives BK?
    • HP844182, on 10/12/2007, -2/+3Your Burger Kings must suck. Ours looks nothing like that. It usually looks pretty close to the advertised picture actually. : /
    • ShawnC, on 10/12/2007, -1/+7"Where is your god now?"
  • VeryBoredNow, on 10/12/2007, -6/+55Well at least it's good for you.
    • lordsandwich, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3Did you mean the print ads or the actual food? Because I think the former might have the edge there.
    • VeryBoredNow, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I mean...both.
  • 60effects, on 10/12/2007, -5/+52Wendy's wins this round with the Southwest Taco salad. The Filet O'Fish comes close -- no amount of pro photography is gonna make that thing look good anyway.
  • CaturdayBR, on 10/12/2007, -14/+17My butthole caught fire just looking at those pictures.
  • mewithoutRicky, on 10/12/2007, -10/+4Nachos Bell Grande are so delicious. Not that much of a difference.
    • SilentSpyder, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1I agree, though it gets a bit messy.
  • Walker2323, on 10/12/2007, -4/+66Could the photographer possibly try to focus the camera?
    • FrenchWilliam, on 10/12/2007, -8/+0I'd guess some of them were taken with cell phones.
    • DrewBlood, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2Tip to the photographer: If you're going to be fair, at least shoot the food outside to get some natural light. Flickr search "foodporn" for examples. It does not take any special equipment or any lighting beyond the sun.
      http://www.flickr.com/search/?w=all&q=foodporn&m=text

      Not that I would any of that stuff but you could at least TRY to be objective.
  • mxpx5678, on 10/12/2007, -3/+22Nice Blurry photos. And actually I think most of these come pretty close, and i would hope the cheese would melt on most of these since you would want the food to be hot.
  • thcobbs, on 10/12/2007, -4/+76Gee, lets think about this....

    Carefully selected ingredients, artful placement, great lighting, highly paid professionals.... = Ad campaign

    Quickly assembled by a minimum-wage 15yr old, with authority issues, and that thinks of how to get laid constantly = Fast Food output


    Why does this suprise anyone?
    • salpairodice, on 10/12/2007, -9/+15I for one am shocked - SHOCKED - I tells ya.

      Does this mean that the things I see on the teevee aren't actually representative of real-life?

      The ladies don't really like the aqua-velva?

      /sob...
    • kitwaites, on 10/12/2007, -4/+5Thinking about getting laid?

      My friend who works in Burger King actually gets laid. On food prep services. In theory I could get some free food but... yeah.
    • dirtyfratboy, on 10/12/2007, -2/+3My rule: If it doesn't look good on TV, then don't bother getting it. Remember, that's the best they can make the product look.
    • ray901, on 10/12/2007, -2/+1"Carefully selected ingredients, artful placement, great lighting, highly paid professionals.... = Ad campaign"

      actually a lot of food that is use for adverts is plastic - it's not real food
    • orbit1979, on 10/12/2007, -3/+1"minimum-wage".... "authority issues"

      Don't they usually go hand-in-hand?
  • thinkart, on 10/12/2007, -5/+36too bad photos can't quite capture the frozen center of the Burger King croissandwich
  • mattmollysdad, on 10/12/2007, -20/+2it all comes out the same anyway so why the concern. just open ur mouth n close ur eyes...hahaha
    • thcobbs, on 10/12/2007, -3/+10and now we know why you don't have a girlfriend.
  • inajeep, on 10/12/2007, -11/+2Next, he'll do the before and after shots. Of course it will be NSFW.
  • gardnmi, on 10/12/2007, -13/+1.........
  • wowsah156, on 10/12/2007, -9/+2No one is surprised with this. What do you expect. Eating fast food is an act of hatred against your body and soul. It tastes sooooo godd but its so bad. People need to start making time to cook for themselves now. The fast food era is so over now. I would rather by fresh ingredients out of a proper deli and make a decent meal i can eat in the park. Eating in a fast food joint surrounded by screaming children and drunks doesnt make me feel hungry.
    • thinkart, on 10/12/2007, -7/+1naive...those ingredients you bought are "fresh" off the floor. research the grocery store industry. you are right, fast food sucks, but unless you farm your own food....
  • manmademark, on 10/12/2007, -10/+4I can't believe I never noticed this
    • zybch, on 10/12/2007, -2/+2I can't believe you said that!
    • arbulus, on 10/12/2007, -2/+1I'll digg you up for effort.
      Just try to remember your /sarcasm tag. It's helps to prevent being dugg down.
  • misterblommer, on 10/12/2007, -8/+4You can make the same comparison to food you buy at the grocery store...
  • cybermort, on 10/12/2007, -7/+7I thought every one knew that food items in advertisement images weren't edible.. they are manipulated too look good under the camera.
    • h00paj00, on 10/12/2007, -1/+8I remember seeing some TV special in the 80s or 90s about how they do food advertisements. It was quite disturbing.
      i.e.
      Ice Cream is shortening scooped out with an ice cream scoop (it won't melt under the lights)

      Juicy turkeys being carved are raw turkeys, painted with wood stain, and a small section is cooked with a hair dryer, then cut into when the camera is rolling.
    • rhkaloge, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2Wish I could find the reference, but I recall reading that any food you see in a picture is not edible. From spraying with hairspray to make it shiny to out-right fakes. Mostly for looks, but also because you can't put an ice cream cone in a studio, under lights, for an hour and expect god results.
  • sp89, on 10/12/2007, -8/+5They don't have time to make each sandwich or bowl of food picture perfect.
  • h00paj00, on 10/12/2007, -2/+27A friend of mine in college went to Burger King and got an ugly whopper.

    He called up their 800 number (I think it was something like 800-yes-800 or some gimmicky number like that) and complained that it didn't look like the picture, just trying to be a smart ass. They sent him a booklet of coupons for free whoppers and chicken sandwiches.
    • mesmeriffic, on 10/12/2007, -2/+10Thats the most awesome thing I've heard in the 30 minutes I've been awake.

      Do they have these numbers just available to call in a burger king?
    • h00paj00, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1I found the number 1-800-YES-1800 - Burger King's customer service.

      EDIT: although google only shows it as in use back in 1994/1995... Don't know if it's still BK
    • CarolynMittens, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2yeah you'd be surprised how easy it is to get free stuff from huge corporations. all you have to do is complain about the product or write a letter or something, and they in turn send you a case of FREE PRODUCT!! coupons.

      i wrote a letter to energizer once when they showed some stupid little kid shoving a cat into a dryer in one of their commercials, so energizer sent me a packet of coupons for batteries and an apology note (i did not use those coupons)
    • frijoles, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1I just called the 800 number. It's not Burger King anymore. It's a chick's voice that tells you to call another number for 99 cents a minute and then hangs up. It would have been more entertaining had she said I could have it my way if I did.
  • GunbladeVIII, on 10/12/2007, -3/+4Actually, I believe that most of the items you see pictured in fast food advertisements are actually plastic, kinda like plastic fruit. That way, they can have something that they can more easily make to look exactly as they want it to, something that won't fall apart while handling during a photo shoot, and something reusable for other pictures or ad campaigns.

    Can't remember where I heard that originally, but makes a lot of sense to me.
    • Ahnteis, on 10/12/2007, -1/+5Not necessarily plastic, but not something you'd want to eat either. (Not just fast food, most food photos.)

      I'm sure there are much better articles out there though, than this one. This mostly shows the difference between someone who knows how to focus a camera and someone who doesn't.
    • zybch, on 10/12/2007, -2/+1There are some absolutely amazing plastic replicas of the menu items at my favorite sushi bar. The damn things look so real!!
    • Yashar, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1FYI: In the pictures, the tomatoes are actually made of wax.
  • svenjick, on 10/12/2007, -12/+3Some people have a lot of time to waste...
    • thinkart, on 10/12/2007, -3/+27including the time it took you to comment
    • arbulus, on 10/12/2007, -1/+6What about the time it took us to reply?
  • SteveRogers, on 10/12/2007, -2/+9Isn't this a little obvious? No food ever looks like it does when advertised. I've actually worked at one of these ad shoots. It was for a Friendly's ice cream ad. Every time they put a layer of topping on, they applied it perfectly then they used hairspray so it would hold long enough for the photos. I don't know about you, but when I get an ice cream Sunday I'd prefer if it didn't have hairspray on it.
  • aresef, on 10/12/2007, -5/+4See, it's great to be a vegetarian. BK barely ever promotes its veggie burger, so there is pretty much no potential for disappointment.
    • fuzzynyanko, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2Still, I have seen this one TV special for a food store where they painted a strawberry with a red sharpie.
  • JV1025, on 11/13/2007, -3/+9This topic was actually touched on a bit in the movie Falling Down with Michael Douglas. If you've never seen this movie, I'd highly recommend it. If you have a bad day, watch this movie and see how it could be worse.

    In one scene he goes into a fast food restaurant and wants to order breakfast but he's too late. They picked the wrong guy on the wrong day to mess with. Anyway, after pulling a gun he takes someone's food and holds it up and compares it to the picture of it on their menu board and voices the stark contrast between the two.

    I think the person who put this up is right. It is false advertising. If you ordered something online which had a picture of one thing and your order came and it looked completely different chances are good you'd be upset. Why should the fast food restaurants get off any easier?
    • smallestmills, on 10/12/2007, -2/+2No, then people would sue for false advertising for everything. Makeup doesn't give me perfectly clean looking skin or make me look like a model, because I use different lighting at my mirror and then out in the world than they do. Proper lighting makes a world of difference.
  • nomore, on 10/12/2007, -6/+4That "food" looks revolting. How can people eat some of that *****?
  • ChronicColonic, on 10/12/2007, -3/+12Sometimes you take the 'wrapper' off a date, and you're not to pleased about the way she looks, but you eat her anyway.
    • h00paj00, on 10/12/2007, -2/+13But at least you won't get herpes from a Filet-O-Fish...

    • ChronicColonic, on 10/12/2007, -2/+11...but hopefully your wife will believe you when you tell her your venereal disease came from fast food.
    • arbulus, on 10/12/2007, -4/+1"yes honey it's true, i have taken a few bratwurst. but the advertisements decieved me: you couldn't see any sores in the pictures"
    • hard666drive, on 10/12/2007, -3/+2mmm, Filet-O-Herpes
  • bcknkd, on 10/12/2007, -3/+1I find the luminescent, tube shaped sour cream the most disturbing.
    • z0l0pht, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1It's actually dispensed from a tube, kind of like a caulk gun.
  • jnosanov, on 10/12/2007, -6/+11I gave up fast food years ago. Thank you for the pictures, now it is even easier to walk right by McDonalds and spend a little more money on real food.
    • richashby, on 10/12/2007, -5/+6Couldn't agree more.

      Although I find the acrid aroma of Subway even more disturbing. Smells like melted cats.
    • zybch, on 10/12/2007, -1/+7Cool. I'll have to melt a few to see if you're correct.
    • arbulus, on 10/12/2007, -2/+17Everytime you eat a Whopper, Jared melts a kitten.
    • driftwood07, on 10/12/2007, -8/+1lol
  • rhys0, on 10/12/2007, -6/+1You guys should count yourselves lucky - those looked a hundred times better than the cr@p that the Johnny No-Stars serve up in the UK!
    • bumfish, on 10/12/2007, -3/+0And there was I just thinking that the whoppers I usually buy in the UK look better than the pics. Hmmm Cant please everyone.
  • imamessy1, on 10/12/2007, -4/+4I've been to a food photo shoot for Applebee's. It's extremely surreal to see these perfect plates of food sitting there, some under about three soft boxes ready for Polaroids, and watching a food stylist finish it all off by sculpting a perfect slice of cake.
  • wush, on 10/12/2007, -4/+27Oh gnoes. The components of my $2 burger are not properly aligned. Alert the internet!
  • SuperFreakKT, on 10/12/2007, -9/+3Anybody can use their sandwich as a punching bag and then take a ***** picture of it. This is the worst basis for comparison that I've ever seen.
  • alarion, on 10/12/2007, -2/+3I thought it was pretty common knowledge that the food advertised is actually plastic or other non-food substances. Also, fries are hand placed in the cartons and held upright with toothpicks if needed (the fries might actually be fries).

    Seriously. There is no way possible to get most of the food to look like it does in the commercials. Even if you spent all day trying.

    Having worked for BK back in the day, I can assure you - it is 100% impossible to make a whopper that looks like one advertised. You can somewhat close if you take special care, but still - it will never look as mouth watering as what the ads show.
  • ostracize, on 10/12/2007, -2/+5I've always said this: I couldn't care less if the colour doesn't jibe with the advertisement. I can understand that the tomatos look redder in the commercial, or the lettuce looks greener on the billboard. All they need to do is prepare a hamburger that sits relatively straight. My brother works at Wendy's and he tells me they don't have that amount of time to work on a burger so they just put on the layers and serve. *****! I can wait 30 seconds to have the ingredients on my burger put on straight. Anyone can. It's not like it's that hard.
    • creepydarkwurm, on 10/12/2007, -2/+1Sure you can wait 30 seconds, but if everyone has to wait an extra 30 seconds it would add up pretty quick , 5 or 6 people waiting in line 30 seconds each adds up quick to another 2 to 3 minutes in line.
    • alarion, on 10/12/2007, -3/+1maybe you can wait. but when you have 100-200+ orders to make in ~30 minutes (pretty common for busy fast food joints during lunch) you really really don't want them to take 30 extra seconds to make your burger. Seriously. If this was done for everyone, especially while busy, you would end up waiting a very long time. Especially when you get some jackass who decides to smoke up, then come in and order 10 burgers at a time :p
    • ostracize, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2@alerion
      I do see what you are saying. However, understand that if I arrive outside of regular busy hours and/or I have less than 5 people ordering behind me, my burger still looks like a half-ass job. Goodness, it doesn't take any more than 10 extra seconds to make some kind of effort to achieve some level of order. How does a circular patty on a circular bun only end up half on the bun? It boggles the mind!
    • z0l0pht, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1I used to make those sandwiches. Yeah, if there's a line you have the responsibility to get the orders out as quickly as possible, but if there isn't a line then time is spent replenishing all the ingredients. If you're lucky enough to get a large excess of time, you actually do go through everything so your next sandwiches come out as if they weren't rushed.
    • alarion, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2@ost
      yeah I can agree with you there. Having worked in the fast food industry, I get agitated when I get a big mac with both patties offset to either side of the bun. Or I get my piece of cheese half off the burger.

      In my time working for Burger King, I worked every position possible, save for store manager (I was assistant manager for a few years). I became very proficient in making sandwiches, and was probably one of the fastest people in my store. Even being fast, I could make reasonably presentable sandwiches.

      Honestly, it's not hard to do. It does take a little coordination and practice to make "well made" sandwiches with speed - but yeah, the majority of workers simply don't give a *****. They are making a tad above minimum wage, customers bitch all day long and take out their daily frustrations on the guy taking their order or the guy in the back slapping their food together.

      I know the first few whoppers I made, I was flinging mayonnaise all over the place, probably off-centered the patty on the bun, etc. But it only took a few attempts to get the motions down and such.

      I do recall one individual I worked with who would, on his break, go out to his car and roll a blunt and smoke up. When he came back, he could never properly assemble a sandwich (he could when not high tho). My manager at the time and I used to crack up watching him trying to make sandwich after his break.

      Anyhow, as I was saying - even while rushing to make all the food that has been ordered during lunch rush or dinner rush, it's still not hard to make a presentable food item.
  • 68024, on 10/12/2007, -2/+2This is pretty telling, however I wish the photography of the food brought home was better and comparable to the advertisement- it would give a more accurate comparison. Not that it would make the actual food look any better *gag*
  • fuzzynyanko, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3The Hardee's (I think called Carl's in some areas) monster biscuit looks gigantic on TV, but the real one looks smaller. It's still a lot of food and it tastes great.
  • brenbart, on 10/12/2007, -1/+6It's kind of scary that McFood appears to be the closest to surreality. What's even scarier is that most of the real food looks better than the fast food I've been served.

    Some of that glop though was just nasty looking.

    Although I applaud his efforts at realism, it would be nice if the photographer made at least a token effort to duplicate lighting and background elements with his photos though. It's a little too much like the weight loss ads where they have a before picture that is to dark, hair is messy, poor posture, no smile and an unflattering outfit which is compared to good lighting, a different pose, smiles and an attractive outfit.
    • andshewas, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2...you forgot to add spray tan...an "after" necessity.

      ;)
  • partytimeloser, on 10/12/2007, -4/+7If you are actually eating this crap, do you really care what it looks like? You already know that it's complete garbage.
  • eoghanj, on 10/12/2007, -3/+0you should shoot for wendy's!
  • bigstinky, on 10/12/2007, -3/+1It's not just the sloppiness, It's the actual amount of food product that you receive as well. I Think Taco Bell is the worst at this. Take a look at the pictures of a Taco Bell taco on their order board. It's brimming, overflowing with goodness. Then, open the one you just purchased. Thin, broken shell with less than 1/2 the ingredients depicted.

    There must be something I, as a fast food eater - and budget minded consumer can do.

    False advertising? I hate to return my food and bitch about it because we all know what happens then; A little floor pepper never hurt anyone.
    • h00paj00, on 10/12/2007, -2/+5Like we need MORE food...
    • alarion, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2I actually have noticed, at least at the local Taco Bell, that the fullness of my Taco is directly related to the time of day - and I would assume, who is working - that I place my order.

      Lunch time, surprisingly, the tacos are loaded - mostly with lettuce, but loaded nonetheless. Late at night is when I typically receive the tacos that barely fill half the shell.
  • DeFex, on 10/12/2007, -3/+3"false advertising" i think you would be more hard pressed to find "true advertising". the advertisers lobbyist have a lot more money to bribe lawmakers than the consumer protection people.

    it also might be interesting to compare the same "restaurant" in different neighborhoods and see if you get better "food" in a wealthier area.
  • AMSRay, on 10/12/2007, -2/+1This isn't just the Fast Food industry doing this, it is all marketing photos, whether it is food, cars, jewelry or swimsuit models. They all retouch the photos, use fake materials, unnatural colors that look better on camera, spray stuff on the girls to make their skin look more even, etc. Often the steps they take to make things look good on camera ruin the item for actual use.
  • Frisbinator, on 10/12/2007, -2/+1Does anybody really dispute that the advertisement pictures are going to look better than the actual product?
  • Fhwqhgads, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1False advertising at its finest.
  • IamTheProfessor, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1The Sausage McMuffin with Egg doesn't look all that disgusting. It's the nacho-type meals that disgust me and the 4,000 calorie burgers that look like someone shat the patty.
  • FiP0, on 10/12/2007, -2/+1Dammit, i've always wanted to do that kind of comparation.
    Damn you procrastination !
  • DaveV, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3hehe... the one that matched the ad closest was the McFish sandwich.

    And, the food in the commercials are idealized and are not even edible because edible food would not stand up to the lights, etc used in the production of the commercials.

    FYI, all that ice cream you see in commercials is really colored lard, or something similar.
    • crashflow, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1mash potatoes with coloring dye.
    • alarion, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1not surprisingly, there is all of two condiments on the fish sandwich, beyond the bread and fish - tartar sauce and cheese. Not exactly a whole lot there you can ***** up.
  • iamsam28T, on 10/12/2007, -2/+1Umm. I really hate to call fake on this but Wendy's salads do not come pre-packaged like that, at least not where I live. All the ingredients are packaged separately in their own containers (salad, tortilla strips, sour cream, chili) and it's left up to the customer as to how it looks afterwards. Maybe they do it differently in other places. But if they did fake that, I wouldn't put it past them to fake everything else on the site.
  • Mast3rDigg3r, on 10/12/2007, -2/+2it's called fast food for a reason, this is dumb
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