Why is Mariah Carey on the cover of my D&D supplement?

I was reading an article in the May 2006 Sharkbytes newsletter, where game author Shane L. Hensley goes off on the newbies in the industry and The Open Gaming license. He delares that

"Everywhere you looked D20 Gamemasters were
saying "only official WotC books" could be used in their
campaigns. Who could blame them? Some of the stuff out
there was absolute crap, and the easiest way to sort through
the chaff was to just stick with WotC, which was (supposedly)
play-tested and certainly better thought out than most of their
competitors."

I didn't play D20 back then, but I remember those days well, including the onslaught of "Crap". Flimsy supplements with huge pricetags. I particularly remember the Avalanche press books with their busty sword babes.

Now, I cant say that the Avalanche supplements were crap. I never used them in a game. but the reviews i've read online aren't great. But then again I recently learned that many online "reviewers don't actually play many of the games they review. But that's another story.

What I do know is that all the young gamers would drool at the covers and the moms would just shake their heads as they watched their little men fall for the oldest marketing trick in the book.