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PR agency removes Smurfette from Smurf: The Lost Village marketing to appease ultra-Orthodox Israelis

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By Dani Gibson | Senior Writer

March 29, 2017 | 2 min read

Marketing billboards for Smurfs: The Lost Village have a slight variation in Bnei Brak, Israel - leading female character Smurfette has been removed from promotional material.

Smurfs

Female character, Smurfette is removed from Israeli promotional material

Billboards and other promotional content in the Israeli city are regulated due to the Orthodox nature of its populace. Posters that "might incite the feelings of the city’s residents" are not allowed to promote women characters.

The PR company behind the region's marketing of Sony Pictures Animation's Smurfs: The Lost Village, Mirka'im-Hutzot Zahav, removed all images of Smurfette to avoid any controversy among the residents of Bnei Brak.

This is not the first time a female character has been removed from promotional material in Israel. The Times of Israel reported that advertising posters in Bnei Brak and Jerusalem removed Jennifer Laurence from the Hunger Games material and the cartoon character Tinkerbell, from Peter Pan.

Additionally, Variety reports that when DC's Wonder Woman opens in the city, film lead and Israeli born actress Gal Gadot will also not appear on the posters in the more religious areas of the country.

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