Procter & Gamble Pulls Photoshopped Taylor Swift Mascara Ad
The photoshopped eye lashes of Taylor Swift wearing Covergirl NatureLuxe Mousse Mascara have been pulled by Procter & Gamble after the National Advertising Division of the Council of Business Bureaus Claims launched an inquiry into the print advertisements.
"You can't use a photograph to demonstrate how a cosmetic will look after it is applied to a woman's face and then - in the mice type - have a disclosure that says 'okay, not really,'" Andrea Levine, director of the National Advertising Division, told Business Insider.
The advertisement, which depicted the lush eyelashes of 22-year-old crooner complemented by Covergirl mascara along with a side of digital enhancement, included the line: "lashes enhanced in post production" or "lashes enhanced in post."
Procter & Gamble did not immediately return our request for comment.
But, that wasn't enough to keep the advertising industry's regulatory agency at bay.
NAD asked P&G for proof of its claims that the mascara added "two times more volume" than bare lashes and was "20 percent lighter" than the most expensive mascara.
The organization was also looking into whether the advertisement "conveyed the implied messages that consumers who use Covergirl NatureLuxe Mousse Mascara would get lashes like those depicted in the advertisement and that the lashes depicted in the advertisement were achieved solely by using CoverGirl NatureLuxe Mascara, without post-production enhancement."
Since the company has pulled the ads, the regulatory organization seems content. The company stated in a press release, it has "permanently discontinued all of the challenged claims and the photograph in its advertisement."
"It is well-established that product demonstrations in advertisements must be truthful and accurate and cannot be enhanced," wrote NAD. "Consequently, NAD appreciated the advertiser's action, which NAD deemed necessary and proper."