Because I’m a cynical prick, anytime I hear of a municipality entering into some sort of marketing campaign with some sort of corporate behemoth that stands to benefit greatly from it, I automatically assume that a slimeball politician is getting his pocket greased in one way or another, and 9 times out of 10 that is exactly the case.
So the news that the Smurfs will be, in the words of the New York Times, “taking up the ambassadorial role previously held by Dora the Explorer and the characters from Sesame Street” starting next week — which just so happens to be the week a Smurfs movie premieres — has me wondering, “Doesn’t Mike Bloomberg have enough money already?!”
Reports the Village Voice:
The ostensible purpose of this marketing effort, or whatever you want to call it, which involves a Smurfs village near Columbus Circle, as well as Smurfs Week events in the Bronx and Brooklyn (but sadly lacking in Queens and Staten Island), is to entice more families to experience New York City. New York City is apparently using money to do all of these Smurfy things from Sony, whose The Smurfs premieres on Sunday. How fortuitous!
George Fertitta, the head of marketing for the city, announced in a statement that “the week of July 25 will provide an unbelievable setting for families to experience Smurfs events around the city.” Among the planned attractions is a Smurfs village containing not one, not two, but three, 10-foot-tall Smurf houses in Central Park near Columbus Circle.
The construction of a Smurf village in Central Park?! Yeah, somebody’s definitely gettin’ paid. Shark Week in NYC would have been much more fun — fun for the whole family, I might add!
And here’s the trailer for the film. It has a very “Muppets Take Manhattan” kind of feel to it, only much less enjoyable.