A FAMILY AFFAIR

The Smurfs were created by Pierre Culliford, Peyo, who sadly left us in 1992. For years already, he had been running parts of the impressive Smurf business from a leafy suburb outside Brussels.

He would be proud to know, as he always wished it, that his heirs are still smurfing on a daily basis!

Thierry - Peyo's son, supervises the creation of new comic books.

IMPS, who coordinate Smurf rights on a worldwide basis in the name of studio Peyo, is owned by his daughter Véronique.

SMALL SCREEN, BIG IMPACT

The source of the Smurf's ongoing popularity is their impressive series of TV stories.

272 half-hour shows are now available , amounting to 17 days (of 8 hours a day) viewership. After an unequalled successful initial run of 9 years without interruption, on Saturday morning broadcasts on NBC, they are currently being shown by general broadcasters and cartoon channels worldwide.

SMURFS SMURF THE HOME

Given the success of the cartoons on TV, it hardly comes as a surprise that the series is also immensely popular as videos and DVDs.

They allow repeated views by kids constituting an endless source of discovery and surprise. They surround children with the positive social and behavioral non violent attitudes related to the Smurfs Universe, which is very different from competing characters.

MUSIC TO OUR EARS

The incredible flexibility of the Smurfs is self-evident when you look at the music charts of the past few years. Recently Smurf music has been scoring at the top of the charts throughout Europe.

Major record companies joined in the fun, pushing Smurf sales to over 40 million CD's and cassettes in total! In 1995, the Smurfs sold more than Queen, The Beatles and Pink Floyd combined in the Netherlands.

GAMING FEVER

From the earliest CD-ROMs to the latest PlayStations, the Smurfs immediately adopted the new formats and brought them to the world of children to extend their accessibility. Transferring their charm and values at the same time.

One of the first colour Game Boys was a Smurf game. Nintendo, Sega and Sony have also benefited from the blue magic.

PLAYING IT BY THE BOOK!

The Smurf Collection of comic books, based on Peyo's creativity and originality, is a corner-stone of the Smurf work. Today skilled cartoonists are creating new stories in the spirit of Peyo.

The stories come in different formats. Long stories of 44 pages, others of 4, 8, 12, up to 20 pages, as well as one-page gags. The variety of formats means they can be adapted to a great variety of publications.

Moreover an important number of activity books is continuously being created. Toddlers will get in contact with their first Smurf bath-book, Preschoolers will enjoy the colouring books, the dot per dot books, the construction books, etc....

First reading with the Smurfs is possible through several Sm8urf magazines, Smurf tale books, mini-books, a charming set of novels and an exciting range of special products.

A LICENSE TO THRILL

The humour and eternal youth of these world-wide comic heroes thrill and seduce generations remaining a real merchandising blue chip.

They can be used both for unique licensed products or broad promotional operations. To maintain the Smurfs value, licenses are selectively granted. The fit and harmony between the brand and characters is key to mutually profitable deals.

The Smurfs work outstandingly well in the merchandising of food products, clothing and fashion, stationary, toys and games, confectionary, toiletries and cosmetics.

On the promotional side, mainly for FMCG (Fast Moving Consumer Goods), the Smurfs are a valuable and highly efficient tool to build brand loyalty and boost sales significantly.

To ensure instant recognition and high quality images, IMPS provides licensees with design services, animations, and tailor-made creations for promotions to build success.

A QUESTION OF CHARACTERS

Every scriptwriter knows that great characters drive great movies. And the Smurfs have proven to be enduring characters for generations of children and adults. 101 different Smurf personalities bring humour and fun in Smurf-world

Meet the main characters:

Papa Smurf: the village leader who is no less than 542 years old - and no more either.

Grouchy Smurf: He grumbles the whole time.

Jokey Smurf: Jokey has an endless stream of gags and practical jokes.

Hefty Smurf: The strongest Smurf in the village.

The wicked Gargamel originally created Smurfette to stir up trouble. But Papa Smurf's magic turned her into the charming little Smurfette that everyone adores.

Mirror in hand, the Vanity Smurf simply adores himself.

(Also shown on the folder: Papa Smurf, Cook Smurf, Wild Smurf, Brainy, Grouchy, Jokey, Smurfette, Vanity, Farmer Smurf, Hefty, Baby, Lazy, Poet Smurf and Greedy Smurf)

NOTE: This says there are "256 episodes of 25 minutes each" of the Smurfs cartoon. What the folder refers to are 256 slots for syndication; some slots are of a single 25 minute episode, but there are also many slots where two shorter episodes are featured. There are actually over 400 episodes of the Smurfs cartoon!