Apparently, it’s good politics to leverage pop culture just about anywhere. First, the New York Times reported that Venezuelan state television is using Darth Vader’s theme music from “Star Wars” to hype the supposed assassination threat to Hugo Chavez. And now AP is reporting that the Belgian office of UNICEF is using the Smurfs to dramatize the effects of war on children. Here’s a poster from the campaign, which also includes a TV ad:

What’s next? Will Vladimir Putin feature the Huxtables in his next TV ad campaign? Will Hu Jintao use the painful decline of “The Simpsons” to illustrate why American geopolitical dominance can’t last forever? Only time will tell!

[PS For those who have never considered the Communist and anti-Semitic overtones of the Smurfs TV show, Wikipedia has a hilarious entry on “Smurf Communism” that’s not to be missed. Try finding that in Encyclopedia Brittanica!]

Update 10/13: Oops, I implied the Smurfs were American. They were actually created by a Belgian. Mistake corrected above.

Update 10/15: Here’s video of the Belgian TV commercial showing the Smurfs being bombed.