One thing I don't exactly get about the whole "we can't modify Mario characters" thing is that a few of the paper partners were completely original creations with basically no ties to existing Mario characters - do you remember seeing any purple-skinned one-legged witches or Rubenesque wind ghosts in a canon Mario game? why not just create more new species?
Using an out of context scene in promotional material to make a work of media appear darker or more suspenseful, Antonym of "[pull a] Kangaroo Jack".