telegraph.co.uk

This article describes a 26-second advertisement from UNICEF Belgium, created as part of a fund-raising campaign to raise funds to help rehabilitate child soldiers in Burundi. The spot shows the blue cartoon Smurfs' village being destroyed by warplanes, and was designed to raise awareness about the impact war has on children. It has, according to the author, been approved by the family of the Smurfs creator and has received tentative approval from the official Smurf fan club.


A spokesman for UNICEF Belgium is quoted as saying that traditional images of
suffering in war zones have lost their power to move viewers, and a spokesman for the Smurf fan club expresses hope that the spot will "make people think". When previewed on the evening news, the author reports that the
"reactions ranged from approval to shock and, in the case of small children
who saw the episode by accident, wailing terror." The spot, however, will normally only be shown after 9 pm and is intended for an adult audience.



Click here for more information about this campaign on the UNICEF website.

telegraph.co.uk
(Online Telegrapo);
Youthful Media listserv, October 11 2005; and UNICEF website, September 11 2006.