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99% Invisible

Flying Food

99% Invisible

SiriusXM Podcasts and Roman Mars

Arts, Design

4.828.1K Ratings

🗓️ 23 March 2016

⏱️ 15 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

The last hundred years or so of food advertising have been shaped by this one simple fact: real food usually looks pretty unappetizing on camera. It’s static and boring to look at, and it tends to wilt under the glare … Continue reading →

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

This is 99% invisible. I'm Roman Mars.

0:03.6

Mowals are watering, lemons are squeezing, and stomachs are growling.

0:08.8

Of all the ads you see on TV or on billboards or on the sides of buses, an overwhelming number seem to be for food.

0:17.0

This is our masterpiece.

0:19.3

Boershead oven gold turkey.

0:21.3

Eggs and sausage, hot cakes and butter. I see coaks in frosted

0:26.6

glasses. Fajitas sizzling on the grill. A guy biting into the purgues. At Longhorn, what's in season matters.

0:33.0

A guy biting into the perfect hamburger on a sesame seed bun.

0:37.0

Peak ingredients perfectly cooked.

0:41.0

But of course, you know, in real life, these foods don't look like they do in the ads.

0:47.0

I'm here with a question from Isabel M from Toronto, Ontario.

0:51.0

She asks, why does your food look different in the advertising

0:54.2

than what's in the store?

0:55.8

It's a great question, Isabel.

0:56.8

We get asked that a lot.

0:58.6

And if you want to come with me,

1:00.4

I'm going to take you across the street,

1:01.4

we're going to find out a bit more.

1:03.0

In 2012, McDonald's, Canada put out this video about the process they go through to

1:08.0

photograph one of their burgers.

1:09.7

What I'm going to do is introduce you now to Noah, who's our food stylist.

1:14.0

And here I think that's important to note that all the ingredients that Noah uses are the exact same ingredients that we use in the restaurant.

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