Stock Photo Fail of the Month

At McCauley Marketing Services, we’re always busy tending to our clients’ needs, but every once in a while, something strange will pop up and we simply have to laugh. This happens quite often when we’re searching for the perfect stock photo for a blog, ad, brochure, website design, or other project, and every once in a while, we come across one of these “stock photo fails” that we just can’t resist sharing.

This month, we were looking for a stock photo to accompany a blog about facial fat, including liposuction for the jowl area. We put in the search term “facial fat,” looking for perhaps a photo of a model pinching the fat of their jowls or cheeks. Instead, we find ourselves face-to-face with the utter randomness of this gem:

We have to admit, this little guy does have those chubby jowls we were looking for to accompany our copywriting, but as an office full of genuine dog-lovers, we wouldn’t change a thing about the way this adorable pup looks.

Now, suffice it to say that if you’re educating people about what they can do about facial fat, a cute picture of an animal of an entirely different species won’t convey your subject very well. But here are a few other tips for choosing a successful stock photo:

• Make it eye-catching. People are visual creatures, and if someone sees an intriguing and attractive picture, it draws in their interest. Just make sure the image is still relevant–don’t just look for the most eye-catching picture you can find.
• Keep your audience in mind. For example, if you’re looking for a picture for a website or print advertising in a publication that may be seen by children, be particularly cautious not to use a photo that has any potentially inappropriate content.
• Be extremely mindful of the legal permissions each image has. As a rule of thumb, you should never use an image you found for free. Even for images you need to purchase, some will specify that they cannot be used for commercial purposes, so check the licensing information for every picture you use.

As amusing as it may be to find shockingly inapplicable photos in your search for stock images, finding the right photos or graphics for your marketing and advertising materials is one of those tasks that can have a surprisingly great impact on your success. Sometimes it’s the little details that make or break an ad campaign and as the old saying goes, “picture is worth a thousand words.” If you prefer to leave those details, the big picture, and all the work in between to marketing professionals, call McCauley Marketing Services to schedule a meeting about your company. Or, for more marketing tips and other helpful information, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Google+.