When did the advertising world get so shiny? Every magazine has at leas one ad showing a product sitting on an unbelievably reflective surface. (Car people, I’m looking at you.)

I have to blame the art directors for this one. Some unnamed AD had to go and show his client how easy it is to create a reflection in Photoshop. NEW LAYER-FLIP VERTICAL-REDUCE OPACITY-DRINKS!

You can understand why the clients would love this one. Instead of a real reflection that might include unattractive elements like the undercarriage of a car, shopped reflections show all that beautiful features (like the hood and the interior and the roof).

Oh sure, it’s physically impossible. But when has that ever stopped a client. Impossible is their business. Try telling a client that you can’t possibly meet a deadline. They’ll stare at you with an expression on their face that tells you they’re thinking. (What about? Beats the hell out of me. Probably trying to decide which color interior they should get on their spare Jag.) Then they’ll pipe up with a “We’ll get back to you.” A couple of days later your friendly neighborhood AE will tell you that the client understands your problems but you’re gonna have to meet the deadline somehow. Oh, and the client is not available to answer questions because they’re spending the week driving their tan Jaguar to Aspen.

For good (bad) examples of shopped reflections go to here.