Smurfs: From Comics to Kids Toys
The Star Wars toy phenomenon showed toymakers the power and profit of TV and movie tie-ins. The Smurfs, small blue forest creatures who wore little white Phrygian hats and leggings, solved problems and had adventures showing the power of working together with others, no matter how different. Smurfs debut in 1957 as a Belgian children’s book, Schrtoumpf.
In 1979, NBC and Hanna-Barbera debut a Saturday morning Smurf cartoon series. The series was a hit, with a forty-four audience share. The original Smurf toys and debut in 1965, but the merchandise tied to the series propelled Smurf toys into the pantheon of 80s toys. In the mid-80s, Smurfs were everywhere. On TV, in toy boxes, on clothes. Kids traded Smurf figurines as if it were their own commerce. They were inescapable, but only part of the trend of TV tie-ins that swept through the mid-1980s.
