People Are Sticking Pimples On Ads In NYC To 'Make Them More Realistic'

"We want people to see that it’s ok to have pimples, and stretch marks, to point out just how photoshopped and fake ads have become."

Because less than 5% of the U.S. population looks similarly to the models who are featured on billboards and plastered in advertisements, a group of individuals in New York City is sticking pimples, wrinkles, and other common ‘flaws’ on the displays.

The project, dubbed @Un.Photoshop, was created by activists who are upset with the fashion industry for promoting unreasonable beauty standards. To combat the fact that models are photoshopped to ‘perfection’ – to the point that they sometimes don’t even have pores, participants began printing stickers and adhering them to advertisements. A supporter of the movement wrote on Bored Panda:

“As a teenager, you look at a magazine and for the first time, it clicks in your head that that girl has no pores, that she smiles but her eyes have no wrinkles… that’s the moment you realize someone behind the scenes is changing how a face looks…as an adult… it gets you angry. It surely did get us angry and we decide to launch @Un.Photoshop

The ongoing effort involves bringing back what’s been erased – sticking stickers of pimples, wrinkles, stretch marks, dark circles and more onto the faces of people in ads who have obviously been photoshopped to an unattainable perfection.”

The individuals even went as far creating custom stickers to match a wide variety of skin tones.

“We printed the stickers ourselves, adjusted the size and colors for different skin tones as we went, to make sure that our project was as inclusive and wide-reaching as possible. We want people to see that it’s ok to have pimples, and stretch marks, to point out just how photoshopped and fake ads have become,” a spokesperson wrote.

The purpose is to “start a conversation about moving forward in media,” because promoting impossible beauty standards to the masses can have detrimental effects. The activists believe that if enough people speak out, the industry as a whole will begin changing promotional tactics.