One of the many reasons I hate sales and marketing is that only one side of the story is ever presented: the side that induces you to buy the product.  The positive features are exaggerated and the negatives are either downplayed or ignored.  The moment I sense that I am being sold something, my defenses kick in, because I know I am not being told the whole truth.

I am especially annoyed by the people who market themselves as if they were a brand.  They also show only one side of themselves: a pretty package, a carefully manufactured persona-as-product they hope you will buy.  Integral to their self-marketing is how they depict themselves on their websites and in promotional materials.  Invariably, they appear to be fresh and ageless, as good brands should be, reality be damned.

I call such people identiposers — people who allow (or promote) the misrepresentation of their image for potential personal gain.  Allow me to present a few examples.

On the left is the image that Barbara Walters, age 85, uses as her Facebook profile photo. On the right is a snapshot of Ms. Walters following her May 2015 appearance on David Letterman’s show.

On the left is the image of Bonnie Raitt, age 65, that she displays on her website.  On the right is a photo of Ms. Raitt at a February 2015 music awards program.

On the left is the image of so-called Doctor Mehmet Oz, age 55, that he uses on his Twitter page.  On the right is a photo of Dr. Oz from his June 2014 testimony before the U.S. Senate.

On the left is the image that Arianna Huffington, age 64, uses on her Twitter account.  On the right is a photo of Ms. Huffington at New York Fashion Week in February 2015.

On the left is an image of the Quaker Oats Man, age 138, as shown in the corporate logo.  On the right — well, I think you get the idea.

Performers are not the only ones who conveniently forget to keep their public image up-to-date.  Take Brian Krebs,  cybersecurity expert.  His website banner photo calls to mind a dashing and intrepid investigator of computer crime.  But on television, we see a 43-year-old soccer dad.

Let’s not forget politicians.  One of the photos at right shows how Senator Barbara Boxer of California, age 74, looks today, and the other photo — from her website — is how she looked in 1998 or thereabouts.  You may guess which is which, no special committee hearings needed here.

Many motivational speakers make a living talking about self-confidence, including Brian Tracy.  The image on the left shows the confident-looking Mr. Tracy, now 71, as seen on his Google Plus profile.  The photo on the right shows Mr. Tracy at one of his workshops, back in 2011.

I don’t buy the notion that these examples are oversights, a result of just being slow on the draw to update promotional materials.  No, the images presented to us are chosen to make the person-product look younger than his or her actual age and thereby appear more vital, appealing and credible.  Using outdated images is a manipulation, one that is hardly more ethical than the more-frequently-criticized overuse of Photoshop.

I have nothing against people wanting to look their best in public and taking pride in their appearance.  But what we see here are examples of personal branding by identiposers, not personal pride.

I am not a celebrity or businessperson.  I have not used my image to brand my blog — what a mistake that would be! —  but in fairness, by not having posted my photo here, I could be accused of leaving too much to the reader’s imagination.  So, in the spirit of self-disclosure, I am sharing a photo of me taken earlier this year.  It’s the first selfie I ever did, using the first smartphone I ever owned, and it will likely be the last.

This brings to mind a morbid topic: what photo is appropriate for one’s own obituary?  Must it show how I looked in my later years or may it be from any point in my lifetime?  I don’t know what photo I would pick, but you can be sure it will show me with more hair on my head.