In a further manifestation of its desire to be known as a health care company, CVS has announced that its marketing of the beauty products it sells will now make clear whether the advertising images have been digitally altered. If they have not, the images will earn a watermark, labeling them with the “CVS Beauty Mark.” But if they have, the retailer will offer no such certification, and instead, it will mark the advertising as “digitally altered.” In turn, consumers can more easily determine the realism of the images they see. In announcing the initiative, CVS cited research that shows how damaging unrealistic images of beauty can be for consumers, leading to heightened threats to self-esteem and increased rates of eating disorders and other risky behavior. In its effort to ensure the health and well-being of its customers, CVS seeks to work with its suppliers to encourage marketing communications that feature more realistic images. To develop the guidelines for determining what counts as extensive alterations, CVS is working with both industry experts and brand partners, in the hope that, ultimately, its initiative will spread to all marketing communications about beauty products, whether in its stores or not.

Source: Tom Ryan, Retail Wire, January 17, 2018