The horror tale of how one woman who unknowingly gave a photographer the rights to her image, discovered how she became the face of some bizarre ads. Photo / Twitter
The horror tale of how one woman who unknowingly gave a photographer the rights to her image, discovered how she became the face of some bizarre ads. Photo / Twitter
Shubnum Khan is a women of very many talents.
If she's not welcoming immigrants into Canada, she's selling carpets in New York, promoting dental sedation on a beautiful beach or leading treks in Cambodia, and if she's not doing all that, she's looking for love in France.
Sound strange? That's because it is. Ms Khan is a South African author and artist — but only recently she also discovered her many other hidden talents.
"So today I'm going to tell you the story of How I Ended Up With My Face On A McDonald's Advert In China — A Cautionary Tale. Six or so years ago, a friend in Canada posted a pic on my FB wall to say she found an advert of me promoting immigration in a Canadian newspaper," Ms Khan posted on Twitter to her more than 10,000 followers.
As most probably would be, Ms Khan admitted that she was "shocked and confused".
"I studied the pic and agreed that it was me. Now I didn't mind that I was promoting immigration in Canada but I couldn't understand why my face was in a paper all the way on that side of the world."
She after some "wtf moments" a friend reminded her that they did a photo shoot a few years ago when she was a university student.
So today I'm going to tell you the story of How I Ended Up with my Face On a McDonald's Advert in China - A Cautionary Tale. Six or so years ago, a friend in Canada posted a pic on my FB wall to say she found an advert of me promoting immigration in a Canadian newspaper. pic.twitter.com/QJ0nWpYNmQ
"Young friends and I were excited; we signed a release form at the start (I thought it was to give him permission to use the photos for his portfolio). We didn't read the small print. I know. It was stupid."
Despite having contacted the photographer in hopes of perhaps having her face sparred further endorsements, he told her, "Yeah, we signed away these photos."
"We took three photos — straight faced, smiling and crazy and they're now stock photos that he sells. He says I might start popping up in places," Ms Khan continued telling her followers.
She tried doing a reverse online search — and, as they say, sometimes it's best not Google yourself.
She shared a confronting, advert where she is the face of a dental sedation clinic in Virginia Beach.
"Innocent enough, you say," she says.
"But then I get into the hard stuff and I'm all about getting rid of those pesky eye bags.
"And then suddenly all this facial work has you getting attention and you're Dina M, with a baby and post-pregnancy melasma until Dermolyte comes to the rescue and gives you photoshopped finished skin."
"Once that's all treated you can grace some book and magazine covers."
Naturally I was shocked and... confused. I studied the pic and agreed that it was me. Now I didn't mind that I was promoting immigration in Canada but I couldn't understand why my face was in a paper all the way on that side of the world. pic.twitter.com/GBquWEFlek
took photos of 100 various faces of all ages & races in Durban. Young friends & I were excited; we signed a release form at the start (I thought it was to give him permission to use the photos for his portfolio). We didn't read the small print. I know. It was stupid. pic.twitter.com/wAykaSpcub
While the well-known author is taking it in her stride, seeing the humorous side of her impressive portfolio, she still has some concerns.
"I can also take on new identities. The most shocking of these are adverts to teach and care for kids — so who is actually with the kids? When I asked the photographer about this, he says I signed away rights to 'distortion of character including false names'.
"So beside the fact that all of us were never paid for ANY of these advertisements, there's also the misleading and downright dishonesty of promoting these products."
She said it's pretty telling of how easily people can be exploited in this new age and how startlingly deceptive everything is.
She admits she had a good laugh at some, but still had concerns. Photo / Twitter
She shared this post saying it was the most shocking of adverts she was linked to. Photo / Twitter
She didn't mind the ads promoting immigration. Photo / Twitter
She didn't mind the ads promoting immigration. Photo / Twitter
"I do find some of the images hilarious and I still laugh when people find me randomly advertising for teeth implants while browsing a paper in New York … but now that I'm older and more assertive and aware of power plays and manipulation I can easily see how we were all used."
She said the photographer agreed to take her image down from his site, "since I complained as an author I could be recognised".
"I don't think this was a legit excuse but it worked in making him take it down. He also said I could still keep popping up where my image was already purchased."
She warned others to: "Be clever. Be aware. Don't get caught up. I'm sure I could have made some money out of this, but instead I'm out there promoting acne cream while someone else gets the profits."
So beside the fact that all of us were never paid for ANY of these advertisements, there's also the misleading and downright dishonesty of promoting these products. Eventually I contacted the photographer and said I didn't know I signed up for any of this, pic.twitter.com/ocpacnYd0W
