Nevermind Prince — here come the Smurfs!
The Purple Prancer, as I heard Prince recently called, is all fine and good -- but what about little blue creatures who only want Smilax berries and peaceful working villages?
That's right, the Smurfs are coming to Coachella and you can party with them until you're blue in the face. Or, more likely, blue on the tongue. Hpnotiq, the turquoise-hued liquor, is one of the sponsors of the Smurf Village, a weekend-long event that will celebrate all things Smurf at an undisclosed residence close to the Polo Fields. (Read: You can't get in unless you're on the guest list. Or, maybe a desperate dip in blue body paint will get you in. Talk to your neighborhood Blue Man for that.)
A few of the highlights of the event, according to co-producer BPM Magazine's Matt Colon: Papa Smurf and Smurfette will be making the rounds in classic costumes (let's hope those get-ups are air-conditioned) and celebs, our village's version of Vanity Smurf (some named Hilton, some not), will be on hand to get gift bags and be photographed, much to the glee of your favorite nasty-tempered blog. Oh, and on the decks: Steve Aoki, Joel Madden of Good Charlotte, Tommie Sunshine, Junior Sanchez and other special guests. There's also a Gargamel potion bar.
Why Smurfs in the desert? For one, the demographic is just right: We people in our late 20s and early 30s have a seemingly endless reservoir for nostalgia, especially when alcohol is supplied.
BPM and the Smurfs are also priming us for Paramount's the re-release of the vintage cartoons on DVD in about six months (distributed by Warner Home Video), along with T-shirts, mugs and the like, to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Belgian creation.
So, yes, this is a giant advertisement and, at first glance, little blue friendlies in the desert may seem an odd fit, but lest you forget, the desert is a trippy place. "I just got a shipment of plush mushroom seats, and a fold-up mushroom house," Colon said. "The irony isn't lost on anyone."
--Margaret Wappler
Illustration of Papa Smurf by Peyo/IMPS
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Why does the times even cover something like this? A cheap company piggybacking on the fun of Coachella with a shameless cheese ball party. Use the space to profile one of the bands. The real fun is at the Polo field. WHy do so many have to leach off them?
Posted by: jm | April 15, 2008 at 03:54 AM
What irony?
Posted by: mark faulkner | April 15, 2008 at 09:44 AM
Try and use Prince's name and not use purple. That was 1984. Try some originality. I bet you still use "The Artist Formerly Know as Prince." I am sure this won't get posted, but that's ok as long as you read this.
Posted by: Albert | April 15, 2008 at 12:15 PM
I still sad about the how lame the line-up is this year..
Posted by: kdlang | April 15, 2008 at 01:45 PM
ONE MORE SIGN OF CORPORATE GREED DEVOURING THE TRUE ESSENSE OF THIS MUSIC FESTIVAL. THIS AINT WOODSTOCK IS MORE LIKE CORPORATESTOCK!!!
MUSIC SHALL BE FREE
Posted by: MUSIC | April 15, 2008 at 02:50 PM
Albert, can we colour him peach and black?
Posted by: The Riverboat Captain | April 15, 2008 at 05:23 PM
Steve Aoki? That fits in with the bad music that was involved in the original Smurfs too... Ewww....
Posted by: soulfire | April 17, 2008 at 03:27 PM
This is possibly the dumbest thing i've ever heard. Lemme guess, smurf products will be sold in in urban outfitters starting this summer. or perhaps even they are smart enough to stay away from something this retarded. the smurfs was a cartoon for kids. i'm just not sure what is kitsch about that for adults. just sounds super lame and this party sounds like the dumbest thing ever.
Posted by: brian g | April 17, 2008 at 03:35 PM