Irwin, the toy-maker whose current line-up includes the master licence for products derived from such successful kids television series as ReBoot is about to bring the Smurfs back to life in North American toy stores, backed by a full-scale national television advertising and promotional campaign. ‘We believe the timing is perfect for a relaunch of the Smurfs,’ says Irwin senior vice president Scott Irwin. The idea of a Smurfs revival in North America developed out of talks between Irwin and Toy Island, a Hong Kong-based toy-maker. Toy Island had approached Irwin last summer to see whether Irwin was interested in providing North American marketing support for a new line of Smurf toys. Toy Island, which also manufactures RoboCop and Rupert the Bear products among others, had created a series of Smurf spin-offs featuring molded plastic Smurf characters with articulated arms and legs. In addition, Toy Island had created a line of accessories and playsets related to these new Smurfs. ‘This (articulated limbs) had never been done with Smurfs, and we became very excited about the notion of bringing them back,’ says Irwin. The Smurf phenomenon began in Europe in 1958 as a comic strip. The happy tales from Smurf village made their way into comics and story books across Europe, and its first animated film in 1975. Throughout Europe Smurfs are as popular today and as prominent in European toy stores and promotional tie-ins as they ever were.īy contrast, Smurfs have virtually disappeared from the North American market. in September 1981 when NBC began airing the first of 256 episodes it had ordered from Hanna-Barbera. Smurfs took North America by storm, then faded in a peaceful exit after an extraordinarily lucrative run.
The Cartoon Network has continued airing the show in off-peak time slots, but otherwise the Smurfs have been on commercial hold in the U.S. ‘We couldn’t believe, when we looked into it, that it had been so long since Smurfs were here in North America,’ says Irwin.
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