Vicious, Malicious, Bloodthirsty: Covergirl (Apparently)

Yeahhhhhhhhh.

So... somebody decided this was a good idea.

I mean, look. I know we had the whole Capitol Colours nail polish line for the last movie. And it's not like that was a particularly great idea either.

What will YOU be wearing to watch kids get selected to fight to death?

But something about Covergirl latching on to The Hunger Games and using it as a platform for a whole line of products, telling us they're "Coming to the Capitol this fall"... It just feels... wrong. Wronger-er. I guess part of what made the China Glaze thing tolerable was that they used Effie Trinket as their inspiration, and while that didn't exactly make it better, it did fit with the character.

But the Covergirl line fits nothing. The dark, hazy glamor of the promo images is clearly meant to emulate Katniss's "girl on fire" parade intro to the Hunger Games tournament. Hey, kids! Don't you want to look just like a girl headed to certain death and bloodshed?

Here's a snip from the press release:

“The exquisite beauty and style in the world of the Capitol is a focal point of this film. Partnering with an innovative brand like COVERGIRL to create an additional layer of beauty storytelling and inspiration for the fans is new territory that we’re delighted to explore.”

The exquisite beauty and style of the Capitol... that's what we want people to buy into.

Okay, look, is anyone at Covergirl acquainted with the word irony? Does anyone there own a dictionary?

You don't use an R-rated slasher flick to market children's toys. Like pairs with like. What this campaign tells me is that advertisers see a movie starring a girl and say, "girl = makeup". No matter how tough the girl is, no matter how little she cares about her appearance, no matter how brutal the circumstances of the film. Girl = makeup.

Tony Stark is far more intimately acquainted
with fashion than Katniss, and I don't see you
trying to sell me his makeup line.

Use Wonder Woman to sell me a product, and I'll buy the whole line. Lady knew how to accessorize and have fabulous hair and fight evil all at the same time. But don't try to sell me Katniss as a fashion model, and don't insult my goddamn intelligence.