MAC Names New Cosmetic Line After Mexican Murder Town
by Jeff Racheff
It’s a good thing MAC designs make-up, because the cosmetics giant is sporting a nasty black eye.
The cover-up creator was blasted for a new joint collection with Rodarte apparently inspired by Juarez, Mexico, the hellish murder capitol of the world — infamous for its drug-related slayings, sex trafficking and unsolved cases of mutilated young women. With product names like “Juarez,” “Ghost Town” and “Factory,” the make-up maker blundered into one of the worst naming disasters in recent history.
Understandably, the backlash came swiftly from all sides. Bloggers lambasted MAC for its sheer obliviousness and insensitivity. Consumers found the campaign offensive, and human rights groups called for boycotts. MAC and Rodarte are now in full-scale PR survival mode. Backpedaling, apologizing and donating money to charity. The companies said at first they would give $100,000 to women in Juarez, but now it appears they are going to donate 100% of the collection’s global profits to a “newly created initiative to raise awareness and provide on-the-ground support to the women and girls in Juarez.” They will also, of course, change the product names.
Still, the obviousness of such a horrible idea is hard to shake. A simple search of Ciudad Juarez reveals the city has been hit hardest by escalating drug wars and is pretty much ground zero for brutal crime waves and unsolved murders (just this week the U.S. Consulate in Juarez closed amid security concerns). Most notoriously however, over the last two decades Juarez has become known as the dumping grounds for hundreds of bodies of brutalized young women.
Sounds like a great place to name a line of beauty products after, right?
Unless you’re one of Anthony Burgess’s “droogs” in A Clockwork Orange, violence, rape and murder are not generally considered to be the best representations of beauty. That’s why it’s so strange that MAC would want to name a make-up line after a place known for all three. Their excuse? The company says it was trying to evoke the “ethereal nature” of the Southwest, with pallid, ghostly tones — colors inspired by actual factory workers designers met while on a road trip to the border.
Of course, trying to exploit the “ethereal nature” of a massacre is in seriously bad taste. Turning Juarez into skin care products glamorizes horrific murders and trivializes the tragedy. What’s next, Kosovo lip gloss? Blush that gives you smoky Darfur eyes?
Considering MAC’s history of social awareness and charity work, and the fact that profits of the controversial line will now be directed to victims of the crisis, you have to chalk this one up as a genuine mistake. And while the company may be on the way to mending its image, you can bet their designers won’t be leaving New York for inspiration any time soon.
