Who killed the Smurfs?
UNICEF did!
That’s right, UNICEF (United Nations Children’s Fund) is now running an ad on Belgian TV that shows the Smurf village being blown to pieces and all of the little blue creatures being killed except one little orphan Smurf.
I came across information about this ad on The Graphic Design Forum and wanted to share it. It was a little shocking to me when I read about the ad and the intentions of it in the article UNICEF Snuffs Smurfs By Josh Grossberg.
UNICEF is hoping to really make a strong statement by using the Smurfs instead of real children. As the article stated,
“The idea of using familiar, reassuring childhood icons in a decidedly dangerous context was intended to bring home to the public the horrendous nature of this theft of children’s rights,” says UNICEF’s Gaelle Buasson.
I was pleased to read that the ad is not being aired until after 9 pm in order to prevent viewing by small children who may know of the happy, playful Smurfs. I can only imagine what kind of negative effect it would have on a small child who sees his favorite cartoon character getting blown to pieces by bombs. However, the response to the ad appears to be very strong and the group says it plans to expand its viewing market into Europe, Latin America and Australia.
Publicis, the ad agency that created the campaign, seemed to have had even more violent imagery involved in the ad but UNICEF said it was not necessary.
Is it really necessary to hurt childhood cartoons in order to make a vivid point to adults?
On a more positive note, there seems to be a Smurf movie in the works that should be in theaters in 2008. After watching the Smurfs when I was little, I am very interested to see how they are done for the big screen.
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