PR company Merkaim Hutzot Zahav has been advertising a new smurfs movie around the country. The billboards have appeared as so:

3 smurfs and 1 female smurf (I am told she is called a smurfette)

They placed a billboard in Bnei Braq that censored out the smurfette and appears as so..

Now, I have basically stopped reporting every time a publication censors out women, as it has just become too repetitive and I don't see the need or point in saying the same thing every time. But this is an unusual situation, as the female censored out is a smurfette, not a human. This is actually funny and unique.

The first point I would like to make is that I have seen a lot of online criticism, and derision, and ridicule, of the Haredi community for this ridiculousness. I would like to point out that nowhere, in any of the 3 or 4 articles I read about this, did I see any indication that the Haredi askanim demanded this. It seems to have simply been a preemptive marketing decision made by the marketing company to avoid trouble, as they are wont to do nowadays just assuming the Haredim will not want women in the advertisements in their areas.

Meaning, the Haredim don't seem to actually be responsible for this ridiculousness. Rather, the marketing company is.

The second point I would make is that it is funny that posting the image of the smurfette in Bei Braq is thought of to be problematic, but advertising the movie itself in Bnei Braq seems to be considered perfectly fine and acceptable.

The third point is the "hava amina" of cropping out the smurfette is just too funny, especially thinking what it might lead to. For example, will all publications in haredi areas soon begin censoring out female cats, giraffes, cows.. (e.g. books, magazines, etc)? The zoo or safari advertisements will only show male monkeys and hippos and no female ones. All reprints of books on hilchos shchita with pictures for clarity will be reprinted with the udders removed, as well as Haredi books about animals will not print pictures any female animals, especially while still on the cow. Hens are long gone, and packagers of eggs will have to be careful what imagery they use on the packaging.. as a matter of fact, the eggs themselves will all come blurred out somehow from now on, and the chickens sold in the supermarket will all have to be thickly wrapped with opaque packaging so the Haredi customer cannot see the shape of the legs or breasts of the female chickens, or maybe Haredim will have to stop purchasing chicken completely, or at least cover the wings until the elbows, cover the polkies, and definitely the chicken breasts.....

I just thought this whole thing was too funny..