Q: Who was involved in creating the “America the Bluetiful” plan, and how do you plan to help publicize the initiative?
A: America the Bluetiful is Sony Pictures Entertainment’s nationwide series of environmental efforts, which allow kids and their parents to meet the Smurfs as they clean up their local parks, encourage recycling, plant trees, and discover other ways to help “bluetify” our country. As part of the initiative, Sony collaborated with the U.S. Forest Service and the Ad Council to produce a series of new PSAs featuring characters from the upcoming family comedy The Smurfs 2. All of the work by Sony was done pro bono.
On Saturday June 22, the PSAs were officially unveiled at The Grove in Los Angeles, as part of The Smurfs 2 launch event, which also introduced “America the Bluetiful.” After the launch, the PSAs will be distributed by the Ad Council to our network of approximately 33,000 media outlets nationwide, who will donate time and space to promote our message.
Q: How did Sony Pictures come into the plan?
A: The Ad Council has an ongoing relationship with Sony Pictures Entertainment. In planning for The Smurfs 2, Sony’s Executive Vice President of Worldwide Consumer Marketing George Leon and his team reached out to our Development group for possible collaborations. We narrowed in on a partnership with the U.S. Forest Service and Discover the Forest, and here we are today!
Q: What are you hoping will come from this initiative?
A: The PSAs are an extension of the Discover the Forest campaign between the Ad Council and the U.S. Forest Service. The campaign’s goal is to instill a love for nature in children, ultimately creating a lifelong interest and legacy of stewardship through first-hand experience. In the PSAs, the Smurfs make the most of their forest home, in an effort to encourage kids to get out and enjoy the forest too. The Ad Council and the Forest Service have worked together since 2009 to help kids and parents take advantage of National Forests, Grasslands or other national environments in their local area.
Q: How was the process in regards to creating the commercial for “America the Bluetiful”?
A: The process was very fun and collaborative. Through our partnership with Sony Pictures Entertainment, we were able to use actual characters and footage from The Smurfs 2. So you’ll see Papa Smurf, Brainy Smurf, Smurfette and other favorite characters in the ads.
**Q: What software/hardware was used in the project? **
A: We animate in Maya and then we render in Arnold which was co-developed by Sony Pictures Imageworks. We additionally composite in Nuke. We light in Katana, a computer graphics scene management and lighting software package, developed by Sony Pictures Imageworks. It was great because earlier this year, key developers of Katana were honored by AMPAS with the Technical Achievement Academy Award.
Q: Anything else you would like to add?
**A: **While our PSAs are very cheerful and lighthearted, they carry a serious message. The health and well-being of our children is directly affected by the amount of time they spend outdoors, as is their awareness of the environment they live in. Research has shown that children who play outside have lower stress levels and more active imaginations, become fitter and leaner, develop stronger immune systems and are more likely to become environmentally conscious in the future. We hope that the Smurfs will help parents and kids remember our campaign, and that new audiences will be introduced to our message through this collaboration.
