"So which is real?"

I'd say real is what it'll look like sitting in your driveway covered in bird poop.

 The interesting thing is that people buy into the deception. They know that the car doesn't really look that shiny and that food never comes out looking like the packages. You'd think that products depicted more accurately would sell better but apparently not. The ads seem to be tapping into some 'primitive' appeal,  shiny = better, that bypasses rational thinking.  I often see ads for software that depict a box even though no boxed copy exists. Perhaps a box suggests a more substantial product. 

Why show cars parked on top of mountain peaks (where most people would be terrified) instead of on a street? What effect does the age/race/gender of those 'photos of strangers' they put in wallets have on sales? Why are bikini clad hotties used to sell beer but whiskey ads look like they were photographed in a board room? The answers are out there.

"Democracy is a pathetic belief in the collective wisdom of individual ignorance." - H. L. Mencken