Stretching and widening of cars in ads.

pgsagar · 11th May 2008, 23:52

Many car ads show their cars stretched and widened to give it better appearance. Remember the Logan, Scorpio and SX4 ad. If they are so ashamed of their cars narrow width and shorter length, then why not make wider and longer cars instead of misleading ads. Even Dzire pic on MUL website appears to have been steretched a bit to give it a sleeker look. Take a pic of Dzire broadside on your camera and put that pic next to Dzire pic on MUL website. Use 360 deg view feature on MUL webpage to turn that pic to sync with the pic you took and you will see that MUL website Dzire looks lot better, which is not representative of actual Dzire. Why not they be honest with their cars' proportions, instead of all that trick photography?

vipul_singh · 12th May 2008, 00:18

How true!

Probably the most blatent streaching (of the truth) is in the Tata Indigo print ad. The car feels almost as long as an Accord, especially because a lady is shown standing beside the car.

On a similar note, the Indigo XL print ad shows (what I presume to be) a chauffer holding the door of the car open, and inside is a miniature drawing-room with a midget sized couple. They got the proportions all wrong in trying to show that car cavernous from the inside.

ramie2400 · 12th May 2008, 00:25

Its not about tricky photography,its all about telecasting technology different from different sources,for a normal TV viewing adv. its shot in 720 x 576pixels,which looks perfect while doing the final edit on the workstation machines,but as it is telecasted it stretches automatically on different TV sets/projector screens.
When the advt. is shooted half of the scenes are shotted in the studio in white or green screen enviornment so various stage of cleaning up the image undergoing alot of masking/colour correction and creating different sizes of the same image for multiple usage leads in dispropotion of the final image and accuracy turns out about 85-95% depending upon how skilled the studio/agency is.

SirAlec · 12th May 2008, 01:09

How many people buy cars just by reading or viewing ads. Don't they usually do a hands on inspection in showroom or do a test drive.

1100D · 12th May 2008, 01:14

Okay, admit that cars may appear stetched depending on the type of media broadcase, TV etc. I remember the Fiesta ad in the Fiesta brochure itself, the car was stretched to appear longer, such shameless was the stretching that on a broadside view of the car the wheel appeared elliptical in a way it was longer on the horizontal direction than the vertical direction).

However when we see countless celebrities appearing quite average in real life, there is no reason why it shouldn't be extended to cars.

theMAG · 12th May 2008, 01:37

True. Creative (advertising) freedom is always to be taken with a hint of salt.

ramie2400 · 12th May 2008, 01:47

Quote:

Originally Posted by 1100D

Okay, admit that cars may appear stetched depending on the type of media broadcase, TV etc. I remember the Fiesta ad in the Fiesta brochure itself, the car was stretched to appear longer, such shameless was the stretching that on a broadside view of the car the wheel appeared elliptical in a way it was longer on the horizontal direction than the vertical direction).

However when we see countless celebrities appearing quite average in real life, there is no reason why it shouldn't be extended to cars.

I totally agree with you sir,but as per my experience in making shoots and being present while the product capturing/shooting process,the people holding the camera's are the main players onto which direction which degree they set the dolly,how dynamic they can make a camera angle in which an average product looks as a masterpiece,and after that alot of processing takes place by several hands and sometimes the mistakes happenes such that after the final product is out there is no way back.As SirAlec mentioned some of them really dont care to note these mistakes.

You might have seen the early Tata Indica Adv. "sizzling hottee rub sun-tan" in that advt.the image of the car was totally different as well the car looked real big,as from a agency source i came to know they used a camera-rig called Panther for shooting that adv. there are certain more car related adv. in making process/story-boarding stages,where i have actually seen some of the cars real big and stretchy in the audition/test shoots.

vivekiny2k · 12th May 2008, 07:50

Quote:

Originally Posted by ramie2400

I totally agree with you sir,but as per my experience in making shoots and being present while the product capturing/shooting process,the people holding the camera's are the main players onto which direction which degree they set the dolly,how dynamic they can make a camera angle in which an average product looks as a masterpiece,and after that alot of processing takes place by several hands and sometimes the mistakes happenes such that after the final product is out there is no way back.As SirAlec mentioned some of them really dont care to note these mistakes.

I would love to see Big B's face warped on an ad, and nobody caring to note the "mistake".

This is an irresponsible reasoning, if that's how it's explained officially.

vkochar · 12th May 2008, 08:10

Well, that's a good point But Ads have always enhanced the products looks. They are more glossy and can be computer modified a bit.

I do not blame them, If you look at TATA Indigo's XL ad, the car really looks huge BUT when you actually see it on the roads it is a little bigger than the Indigo.

Car-Agey · 12th May 2008, 10:18

OT: Why are we so biased against TATAs? The original post talked about other cars and suddenly every body has started seening problem with TATA ads only.

LLL · 12th May 2008, 10:33

I dont think anyone buys a car based on dealer-speak, auto-mag reviews or print ads. Its all BS.

People inspect the car, do a TD, go by word of the mouth, consult relatives/friends, look at the cars parked in their neighbourhood and then buy a car.

Print ads can show a Zen estillo longer than a hummer and a Indigo CS bigger than a stretch limo for all we care.

GTO · 12th May 2008, 10:50

You hit the nail right on the head, pgsagar! Its disappointing to see manufacturers resort to cheap tactics to make their car look bigger. Indians do have a fascination with size, and want the "most" / biggest car for their money....the marketing chaps know that and will stop at nothing to exploit.

Doesn't anyone remember the Ford Fusion ads? It looked like a big butch SUV in those pictures. Imagine the look on the poor customers face when he saw it for real

.

Murugan · 15th May 2008, 01:46

In 2003 even the Maruti Versa brochure had a photo where it looked longer than in real life. It definitely made the Versa look less top heavy.

The TATA ad for the Indigo XL was downright misleading. I imagined the rear door would give access to seats facing each other as in the ad. What a disappointment it was in reality.

f450 · 12th March 2009, 00:45

Quote:

Originally Posted by 1100D

However when we see countless celebrities appearing quite average in real life, there is no reason why it shouldn't be extended to cars.

Interesting statement, that. But you're not going to marry the celebrity, are you? So his real life image shouldn't matter to you.

But the real life image of a car does matter if I'm going to take time out and make the effort to go to the showroom and see if I want to buy the car. Good example, but not a valid comparison.

tanwaramit · 12th March 2009, 13:13

Renault when launched was advertised as a very big car, more than Merc C class.

All this fizzled out once the customers saw the car and came to know the real difference, those stats numbers were taken back very soon after the launch.

I was very curious to see (ads of ) such a competitively priced spacious car. Actual eyes gave more clearer vision.

Similarly, Versa, with Amitabh duo (son n father) was shown as a vehicle as big as innova. Only when we see did we realise what we got from Maruti.

11th May 2008, 23:52	#1
pgsagar Senior - BHPian Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Vizag Posts: 2,628 Thanked: 3,566 Times View My Garage	Stretching and widening of cars in ads. Many car ads show their cars stretched and widened to give it better appearance. Remember the Logan, Scorpio and SX4 ad. If they are so ashamed of their cars narrow width and shorter length, then why not make wider and longer cars instead of misleading ads. Even Dzire pic on MUL website appears to have been steretched a bit to give it a sleeker look. Take a pic of Dzire broadside on your camera and put that pic next to Dzire pic on MUL website. Use 360 deg view feature on MUL webpage to turn that pic to sync with the pic you took and you will see that MUL website Dzire looks lot better, which is not representative of actual Dzire. Why not they be honest with their cars' proportions, instead of all that trick photography?
	() Thanks

12th May 2008, 00:18	#2
vipul_singh BHPian Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: BLR / Lucknow Posts: 595 Thanked: 833 Times View My Garage	How true! Probably the most blatent streaching (of the truth) is in the Tata Indigo print ad. The car feels almost as long as an Accord, especially because a lady is shown standing beside the car. On a similar note, the Indigo XL print ad shows (what I presume to be) a chauffer holding the door of the car open, and inside is a miniature drawing-room with a midget sized couple. They got the proportions all wrong in trying to show that car cavernous from the inside.
	() Thanks

12th May 2008, 00:25	#3
ramie2400 Senior - BHPian Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Mumbai Posts: 1,903 Thanked: 66 Times View My Garage	Its not about tricky photography,its all about telecasting technology different from different sources,for a normal TV viewing adv. its shot in 720 x 576pixels,which looks perfect while doing the final edit on the workstation machines,but as it is telecasted it stretches automatically on different TV sets/projector screens. When the advt. is shooted half of the scenes are shotted in the studio in white or green screen enviornment so various stage of cleaning up the image undergoing alot of masking/colour correction and creating different sizes of the same image for multiple usage leads in dispropotion of the final image and accuracy turns out about 85-95% depending upon how skilled the studio/agency is.
	() Thanks

12th May 2008, 01:09	#4
SirAlec Senior - BHPian Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: zxc Posts: 3,393 Thanked: 726 Times	How many people buy cars just by reading or viewing ads. Don't they usually do a hands on inspection in showroom or do a test drive.
	() Thanks

12th May 2008, 01:14	#5
1100D Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Calcutta Posts: 4,390 Thanked: 4,096 Times View My Garage	Okay, admit that cars may appear stetched depending on the type of media broadcase, TV etc. I remember the Fiesta ad in the Fiesta brochure itself, the car was stretched to appear longer, such shameless was the stretching that on a broadside view of the car the wheel appeared elliptical in a way it was longer on the horizontal direction than the vertical direction). However when we see countless celebrities appearing quite average in real life, there is no reason why it shouldn't be extended to cars.
	() Thanks

12th May 2008, 01:37	#6
theMAG Distinguished - BHPian Join Date: May 2006 Location: Avon, CT Posts: 7,217 Thanked: 1,807 Times View My Garage	True. Creative (advertising) freedom is always to be taken with a hint of salt.
	() Thanks

12th May 2008, 08:10	#9
vkochar Senior - BHPian Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Delhi / Agra / London Posts: 2,146 Thanked: 819 Times View My Garage	Well, that's a good point But Ads have always enhanced the products looks. They are more glossy and can be computer modified a bit. I do not blame them, If you look at TATA Indigo's XL ad, the car really looks huge BUT when you actually see it on the roads it is a little bigger than the Indigo.
	() Thanks

12th May 2008, 10:18	#10
Car-Agey BHPian Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Delhi Posts: 344 Thanked: 54 Times	OT: Why are we so biased against TATAs? The original post talked about other cars and suddenly every body has started seening problem with TATA ads only.
	() Thanks

12th May 2008, 10:33	#11
LLL BHPian Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Delhi Posts: 635 Thanked: 2 Times	I dont think anyone buys a car based on dealer-speak, auto-mag reviews or print ads. Its all BS. People inspect the car, do a TD, go by word of the mouth, consult relatives/friends, look at the cars parked in their neighbourhood and then buy a car. Print ads can show a Zen estillo longer than a hummer and a Indigo CS bigger than a stretch limo for all we care.
	() Thanks

12th May 2008, 10:50	#12
GTO Team-BHP Support Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Bombay Posts: 70,534 Thanked: 300,732 Times View My Garage	You hit the nail right on the head, pgsagar! Its disappointing to see manufacturers resort to cheap tactics to make their car look bigger. Indians do have a fascination with size, and want the "most" / biggest car for their money....the marketing chaps know that and will stop at nothing to exploit. Doesn't anyone remember the Ford Fusion ads? It looked like a big butch SUV in those pictures. Imagine the look on the poor customers face when he saw it for real .
	() Thanks

12th March 2009, 13:13	#15
tanwaramit Senior - BHPian Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Dilwalon ki Dilli Posts: 1,930 Thanked: 497 Times	Renault when launched was advertised as a very big car, more than Merc C class. All this fizzled out once the customers saw the car and came to know the real difference, those stats numbers were taken back very soon after the launch. I was very curious to see (ads of ) such a competitively priced spacious car. Actual eyes gave more clearer vision. Similarly, Versa, with Amitabh duo (son n father) was shown as a vehicle as big as innova. Only when we see did we realise what we got from Maruti.
	() Thanks