Subway Latest Fast Food Corp Sued Over Exaggerated Ads

The advent of AI generated images is raising a lot of questions over authenticity, particaulrly when it comes to advertising.

Man in green jacket sitting on red and black motor scooter. Photo by Matheus Bardemaker

Not only is there a whole industry around commercial photography, but there are also quite a few laws and regulations depending on where you are in the world.

So, if you have a company like Subway getting sued for using exaggerated advertising based upon actual photography, how are companies going to defend something that is generated out of thin air? How could that even be close to a realistic depiction of what a customer might receive?

Such are the questions swarming around this latest tale of advertising photography going a little too hard. We have covered similar stories in the past, and just as in those cases, this one involves photographs that promise something beyond most restaurants' capabilities to deliver on a consistent basis.

The class action lawsuit centers on a steak and cheese sub where the customer launching the complaint alleges that the ad shows some 200% more meat than what was received. Indeed, the picture of the ad and the final product is quite stark. The lawyer in the case describes this kind of advertising as the “kind we are trying to stop,” PetaPixel reports, but we are taking a broader view and working it into the AI debate. And, again, the question remains: How can a company defend itself against product misrepresentation if the picture used to advertise it is AI generated?

Here, perhaps in a notable first, regulations and laws might actually help commercial photographers keep their jobs.

Any thoughts on realistic depictions of products in advertising are welcome in the comments.

We have some other photography news for you to read at this link right here.