Which ethical guideline is most important to guide retouching in advertising?

• A. Deliberately misrepresent body proportions.
• B. Always apply heavy, undisclosed retouching.
• C. Retouching should be avoided entirely.
• D. Avoid misrepresentation of body proportions or features.

Answer: (D)

Not deceiving viewers about how a person or body looks guides ethical retouching in advertising. This principle protects truthfulness, consumer trust, and fairness, and it keeps edits from crossing into deception by changing body proportions or features in a way that misleads the audience. It’s the strongest guideline because it sets a clear standard: you may enhance for visual quality, but you should not alter essential attributes in a way that would distort reality. The other options promote deception, concealment, or an impractical blanket ban, which undermines professional work and transparency.