Is there anything better than an ice cream commercial? Actual ice cream, of course. But surprisingly, commercials don’t use the real stuff during the shoot. It may seem like false advertising, but ice cream is notably difficult to work with.
Let me set the scene real quick. You’re out with your best pals on a summer day and decide to grab a scoop or two. Even though you love ice cream cones, eating it outside will instantly cause a sticky mess. It’s just one of the aspects about summer that we deal with. Ice cream will melt outside of a freezer no matter what, but it’ll melt even faster in hot climates.
Now, just imagine that ice cream cone with a bunch of studio lights in front of it. It’d almost be impossible to shoot — and you probably won’t make the sale if all you have to show is (still tasty, but) melted product. So, in commercials, they use a stand-in that’s far less appetizing.
Seriously — it’s crazy how much a mixture of corn syrup, shortening, and food coloring can look like ice cream. All you need to do is mix it together, add a little bit of texture, and it looks just like what you’d enjoy after dinner. (Or, before dinner. Or maybe as dinner.)
It hurts a little, right? You feel a lied to when you see what really goes on behind the scenes. But honestly, it makes sense.
Commercial shoots can often last for days, and the creative team behind them works hours at a time. Having an ice cream product that doesn’t melt must give them at least a little bit of relief. Just imagine how much longer the shoot would be if they had to replace the ice cream every five minutes.
