McDonald’s photo shoot behind the scenes: Why McDonald’s burgers look different in ads

Recently, McDonald's launched a website where consumers could post questions about the restaurant's products, and a company expert would provide an answer, as a better way to handle public perception of the brand and to help answer some common questions.

So when Isabel M from Toronto, Ont. asked: "Why does your food look different in the advertising that what is in the store?" the folks at the Golden Arches took a camera crew behind the scenes to show why the product you purchase in store doesn't necessarily look like the advertisements you see.

Hope Bagozzi, director of marketing for McDonald's Canada, went into a local McDonald's, where she ordered the Quarter Pounder With Cheese to take along to a photo shoot at Watt International Photography Studio, which has done all the merchandising and advertising creative the last several years for the company.

After snapping an image of the fresh burger, we're taken to a full-scale kitchen where food stylists are preparing the burger to be used in an advertisement for its 15 minutes of fame. This process can take several hours, as opposed to the couple of minutes an employee in a restaurant spends assembling a sandwich, says Bagozzi.

The photographers use the exact same ingredients that the restaurant locations use, except they're placed in such a way that you can see them in a photo, whereas the restaurant burger has its toppings secured under the bun. The advertisement image, much like images of models in magazines, goes through a retouching process to fix any noticeable imperfections and sharpen up the image overall.

For more images of how fast food ads compare to the real thing, check out this fascinating slideshow.

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