Marilyn Monroe Named the New Face of Max Factor

Well, this is interesting: Usually when a cosmetics company is looking for its next celebrity spokesperson, it chooses someone current who is already grabbing headlines. Today, Max Factor announced that it is going to abandon the latest talent in favor of going in a more iconic direction. Marilyn Monroe has been named the newest face of Max Factor cosmetics. The fact that she has been dead for 53 years did not matter when her own beauty was always in a class by itself.

Monroe will star in this year's advertising campaigns and the focus will be on how make-up helped to transform her from mousy Norma Jeane Mortenson to the red-lipped, platinum-haired bombshell, which cemented her reputation as one of the world's most infamous bombshells. Monroe was reportedly a client of Max Factor's in the 1940s and indulged in the brand until her unexpected death in 1963.

"Marilyn made the sultry red lip, creamy skin and dramatically lined eyes the most famous beauty look of the Forties, and it's a look that continues to dominate the beauty and fashion industry. It is the ultimate look that defines glamour — nothing else compares," says Pat McGrath of Max Factor to The Daily Telegraph.

While it might seem odd to choose a long-gone star to headline a new advertising campaign, it is actually not all that uncommon. Last year, Monroe was ranked as sixth in Forbes magazine's annual list of the highest-earning dead celebrities, so even in death she is still capable of raking in some serious cash.

What are your thoughts on this decision by the company? Could Monroe being the new face of Max Factor start a new trend? Will other iconic Hollywood starlets start popping up in drug stores to help sell modern products? Tell us your thoughts in the comments section below.