If you’re involved in fast food advertising, you know one thing — you’ve got to make your product look as delicious as possible. On television, you’ll never see a squished burger patty or a tomato slice that’s not quite ripe. Instead, burgers look tall, fresh, and straight off the grill. But, there’s a pretty good chance the steam you see isn’t from the burger itself. In fact, the burger — which is actually inedible due to the number of props between those two buns — has probably been sitting out for some time. The steam may very well be coming from a heated tampon.
Sounds ridiculous, but it’s actually true. One of the most popular “ingredients” in a tampon is non-organic cotton, and that cotton is the perfect way to get the right amount of steam. Stephen Hamilton from Petapixel wrote that a dense ball of cotton can hold steam for a few minutes, which is important when setting up the shot. A tampon is also small enough to hide from the camera if the food is being shot from the front. Depending on what’s being shot, standard cotton balls can also be used.
Who knew tampons were so versatile? Knowing this fact will change everything you thought you knew about advertising.
The real question is, who’s the person who initially knew a heated tampon would be the best option for fake steam?
Even though it should have been obvious, as commercials often take days to shoot, it’s still strange to see an important item in an unexpected place. Just as a solid reminder, these things can heat up quick — so microwaving a tampon might not be the best idea to try at home.
