[inlikealamb]

> but nobody really expects the food they get will look anything like the food in the ad did

Have you ever worked at a restaurant? It's not as unusual as you think. A lot of us on HN are in bubbles of savvy people because of our tech-related professions, and most people are NOT savvy. Many people never consciously think about the images they're subjected to.

[autoexec]

Wouldn't it be a problem for the restaurant if people were contently sending food back or being disappointed by the product because it didn't look like the ad? I mean, the difference is striking! (see https://i.imgur.com/e9EaVbu.jpeg). If I genuinely expected the first burger in that image and got served the second one I'd demand my money back and maybe never step foot in that restaurant again! Wouldn't most people? It seems more likely to me that most people accept that the first burger is a fantasy.

[inlikealamb]

I worked restaurants through college and I've probably had food thrown at me over a dozen times because it didn't look like the menu!

It's not the norm, but it's not completely unusual. I've had many more people complain about the disparity in less severe terms. It's a very weird world out there, and if I've learned anything it's that I'm incredibly lucky to have any amount of self-awareness because a lot of people are running around out there on pure id... unaware of just about anything. If you're at all skeptical about anything you're ahead of the curve.