Brussels, Belgium (April 17th, 2023) — On April 18th, The Smurfs’ Society will unveil the first official PFP collection backed by the Smurfs brand. This ambitious project builds on the successful launch of a fully on-chain game that gathered over 85,000 players and entered the TOP100 most active decentralized Apps in Feb’23. 

The Smurfs: An entertainment icon celebrating its 65th anniversary 

The Smurfs is an incredibly successful franchise that has captured the hearts of children and adults worldwide for 65 years. These characters have become an iconic part of popular culture, appearing in countless comics, TV shows, movies, and video games. Their images permeate our culture and their enduring popularity continues to attract new generations of fans and keep the Smurf legacy alive. 

This year, the Smurfs have become one of the few ‘classic brands’ to enter the world of Web3 successfully. Their fully on-chain game gathered a diverse community of crypto natives and entered the TOP10 most collected profiles on the decentralized social Network protocol ‘Lens.’ The collection is an opportunity to unite communities around the Smurfs’ positive values and reward them for their engagement and actions. 

A legendary collection that defines new standards for NFTs 

‘The Smurfs’ Society Legendary Collection’ is an official collection of 12,500 NFTs building on the Smurfs’ universe. The original characters and an exciting new cast of Smurfs have been brought to life in intricately detailed 3D-rendered NFTs.

The collection consists of 250 unique Smurf characters with 50 individual variants. Each NFT is unique and customized with over 300 randomized traits including skins, background FX, lighting, and more, and designed in collaboration with influential artists as well as our partners and community members. The goal is to build a truly distinctive collection with an unrivaled level of diversity that speaks to a global community. 

Each NFT comes with exclusive utilities and benefits, with unique perks attached to individual Smurf characters (like game tickets for Soccer Smurf, wine bottles for Sommelier Smurf, etc.). Utilities include physical prints, raffles to win prizes, and access to partners’ and artists’ services, products, or artwork. All Smurfs’ Society holders will get access to satellite projects currently in the works, such as an upcoming NFT game, and access to a DAO platform to curate and finance sustainable projects to protect the planet. 

The Sequential Sale: An innovation that works with the Web3 community  

The sale process starts on April 18th with a “bucket auction” for 3,000 of the PFPs in the collection. In this type of sale, a single ‘clearing price’ will be determined at the end of the auction based on bid amounts and total NFT supply. This process allows the market to set the price of the collection. 

Next, a discounted sale for community members will take place. This is when owners of “access crystals” collected during the gamification phase will have a chance to ‘mint’ the Smurf characters they’ve won or purchased. The mint price will be based on the clearing price from the bucket auction, minus the discount associated with each access crystal. 

The final step of the community-driven drop will see special sales for the remaining NFTs in the collection, with additional artists’ collaborations and events. 

Coming next: Building a whole Web3 ecosystem 

The Smurfs’ Society was developed by a collective of experienced entrepreneurs, artists, and Web3 experts, collaborating closely with IMPS, the Smurfs’ parent company. The team’s long-term vision is to introduce new ambition to Web3 by combining innovative experiences, individual rewards, and collective interests to support ‘for good’ initiatives. These community and ‘for good’ values are at the core of the Smurfs brand. 

They have already partnered with a dozen Web3 names (The Sandbox, Lens Protocol, ZenGo, P00lS, etc.), over 100 Web3 communities, and have started announcing collaborations with an incredible group of artists such as André, Philippe Druillet, Richard Orlinski, Fafi Birtak, Antonyo Marest, and many others still to come. 

The Smurfs’ Society proves that a traditional brand can transcend Web3 standards, demonstrating that they are listening to and most importantly working with the relevant communities to build innovative projects in this demanding market. Whether or not this adventure becomes the first literal ‘Blue’ chip NFT collection, it has already corroborated the Smurfs’ Society’s motto, Together, invincible. This is a vibrant confirmation for those who feel that our greatest strengths lie in our collaboration. 

ABOUT THE SMURFS’ SOCIETY
The Smurfs’ Society is the official Web3 project by entertainment icon The Smurfs. The innovative combination of an immersive, fully on-chain gamification platform and a 12,500 3D NFT collection created in collaboration with famous contemporary artists. Operated by a collective of Web3 builders from all over the world, the project aims to unite collective interests with individual rewards to inspire, fund, and drive positive actions for our blue planet.  

ABOUT PEYO & IMPS (International Merchandising Promotions & Services) – THE SMURFS™
IMPS is the official licensor of the little blue characters ‘The Smurfs.’ Over the years, IMPS has worked in close collaboration with its agents worldwide to develop successful licensed merchandising, retail and co-branded promotions, publishing activities, digital and video games, broadcasting deals, theme parks, live shows, and family entertainment experiences, that have secured the everlasting success of the Smurfs.  IMPS is run by Véronique Culliford, the daughter of Pierre Culliford, the creator of the Smurfs, who is better known under his pseudonym Peyo. Véronique has run IMPS since 1984 and controls with LAFIG Belgium the rights to the Smurfs characters and the Smurfs licensing worldwide.