Hasta La Creative!

The Panem propaganda machine is officially cranking up for The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1. Seven beautiful posters, each honoring a different district from the movie, and an ominous announcement from President Snow have been released to kick off the movie’s marketing blitz.

(Lots of spoilers below if you haven’t read or seen Catching Fire.) 

In the Capitol TV announcement, a brainwashed Peeta, held prisoner and tortured in the Capitol after Katniss’ rebellion failed to succeed, stands next to the President and looks off into the distance as Snow issues a warning to all rebels.

It’s a nice, simple spot designed as delightful fan service without giving too much away. But the posters are the real treasure here. Mad props to whoever art directed them with such an eye for detail and the writer who developed a backstory for each “District Hero.” (The bios are actually Yahoo sponsored content, in case you’re keeping tabs on this whole native advertising trend.) 

It’s no coincidence that the most soul-rending execution is the tiny, coal faced ragamuffin for District 12, the place where Katniss is currently residing after her own district was burned to the ground.

Speaking of that, it’s been a barren year for fans of fictional advertising. Fewer movies and TV shows are expanding their worlds with imaginary campaigns that give a wink to loyal fans. Luckily, it looks like Mockingjay is gearing up for even more fictional broadcasts from Panem over at TheCapitol.pn (a brilliant use of the .pn domain used by Pitcairn Islands, ironically settled by mutineers).

The campaign also has a hashtag, #OnePanem, should you desire to send them some rebellious tweets that, in a real-world dictatorship, would get you thrown in jail.