LOS ANGELES – In anticipation of the release of Columbia Pictures’ and Sony Pictures Animation’s The Smurfs, in theaters July 29th, 2011, Gourmet Trading Company is bringing the iconic characters to their packages of Gourmet California and Oregon blueberries.
Labels featuring the Smurfs will also include a code for a “gift with purchase” offer. Customers who purchase the blueberries may visit a custom website, where they can enter their code to see if they will receive either a free $5.00 movie ticket upgrade to see The Smurfs or a Smurfs virtual skin for their computer, while supplies last.
“The whole world is going to be thinking Smurfy blue as they anticipate the movie, and with this promotion, they’ll be thinking blueberry, too,” said stated Julia Inestroza, Marketing Director for Gourmet Trading Company. “We’re thrilled to be partnering with Columbia Pictures and Sony Pictures Animation to bring the Smurfs to our blueberries and give our customers the opportunity to receive a $5.00 movie ticket upgrade to see The Smurfs in theaters.”
Mary Goss Robino, senior vice president, Global Marketing Partnerships for Sony Pictures, added, “This promotion is a fresh, fun, and healthy tie-in – and considering that the Smurfs love smurfberries, which just happen to be blue, it’s a natural.”
The Smurfs-branded label will be on 4.4oz, 6oz, 12 oz, 18 oz. and 2lb packages and will be distributed throughout the United States through August 6th, 2011.
Follow the promotion on Twitter: @Smurfberries
The Smurfs make their first 3D trip to the big screen in Columbia Pictures/Sony Pictures Animation’s hybrid live-action and animated family comedy, The Smurfs. When the evil wizard Gargamel chases the Smurfs out of their village, through a magical portal, and into our world, they land in the middle of New York’s Central Park. Just three apples high and stuck in the Big Apple, the Smurfs must find a way to get back to their village before Gargamel tracks them down. Directed by Raja Gosnell. The producer is Jordan Kerner. The screenplay is by J. David Stem & David N. Weiss and Jay Scherick & David Ronn from a story by J. David Stem & David N. Weiss, based on the Characters and Works of Peyo.
About Gourmet Trading Company:
Gourmet Trading Company, headquartered in Los Angeles, CA, was founded in 1982. Their control over the supply chain of fresh asparagus and blueberries enables them to offer superior service to their customers and growers all over the world. Strong grower relationships globally, a state of the art packing facility in Pasco, Washington, implementation of their own traceability system, management of their own farms in Peru and California, in-house warehousing through Gourmet Logistics, and continual investment in their business enables them to provide high quality asparagus and berries all year round. Gourmet Trading Company has additional offices in Miami, Florida; Pasco, Washington; El Centro, California; Bakersfield, California; Buenos Aires, Argentina; Santiago, Chile; Auckland, New Zealand; Lima, Peru; Tokyo, Japan; and Caborca, Mexico. Additional information is available at www.gourmettrading.net
About the Smurfs
The story of the Smurfs – a property created by Peyo – started in 1958 with the creation of comic books which were later brought to both the big and small screen. Over the years, the little blue characters haven’t just limited themselves to the page and the screen. They have inspired records and CDs that have sold millions of copies, entire collections of figurines and toys, and many more products. In all, more than 3,000 derived products have been produced and leading brands and companies have spread their messages worldwide with the help of the Smurfs. A multitude of new projects appear regularly, thus making the success of the Smurfs planetary!
About Sony Pictures Entertainment
Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE) is a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, a subsidiary of Tokyo-based Sony Corporation. SPE’s global operations encompass motion picture production and distribution; television production and distribution; home entertainment acquisition and distribution; a global channel network; digital content creation and distribution; operation of studio facilities; development of new entertainment products, services and technologies; and distribution of entertainment in more than 140 countries. Sony Pictures Entertainment can be found on the World Wide Web at http://www.sonypictures.com.
About Sony Pictures Animation
Sony Pictures Animation produces a variety of animated entertainment for audiences around the world. The studio is following its 2009 worldwide hit, the mouth-watering 3D comedy Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, and the 2007 Academy Award®-nominated Surf's Up with a full slate of feature films including the live-action/animation hybrid film The Smurfs (3D) and the family comedy, Hotel Transylvania (3D). The division is also in production with Aardman Animations on two feature films, the CG-animated family comedy Arthur Christmas (3D) and the stop-frame animated high-seas adventure, The Pirates! Band of Misfits (3D). Open Season 3, the third adventure in Sony Pictures Animation’s successful Open Season franchise, was released on DVD and Blu-Ray January 2011. Sony Pictures Animation is an operating unit of Sony Pictures Digital Productions.
About Lafig Belgium S.A.
Lafig Belgium is the owner of the rights to produce audio-visual works based on the Smurf universe and of the Smurf worldwide licensing rights (together with IMPS). Lafig Belgium is controlled by the heirs of Pierre Culliford, better known under his pseudonym Peyo, the author/creator of the Smurfs. For 50 years, the Culliford family has controlled the Smurf characters and all licenses worldwide.
Source: Gourmet Trading Company
