Crayola + Smirk and Dagger Games
Most know Smirk and Dagger Games as the creators of numerous ‘stab-your-buddy’ games, but few know that Curt Covert and Justin Brunetto were behind the smash hit of the toy aisles this past season, Crayola 3D Sidewalk Chalk. Supported by a great ad campaign, Crayola sold out in just two weeks last June! The product was listed as one of the Top 5 Hottest Toys of the summer, won the Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Gold Seal for Best Toy and was featured on morning news programs, such as The Today Show. For those who did not watch the TV commercial that ran this summer or see the product in action on their own driveways, you can see both on Crayola’s website at http://www.crayola.com/products/splash/outdoor/3dchalk.cfm
“It was crazy to see the product listed on e-bay for three times the listed retail price. It was running neck and neck with Bakugan. As soon as stores got them in, the shelves would be sold out in a matter of hours. Incredible. Though if you look around on Amazon or other places, you may yet find a few,” Curt said.
The Crayola 3-D Activity kit is just plain mind-blowing and will not only delight your kids, but you’ll find yourself having a ball with it too.
No matter what kids draw, when they put on these special, clear lens glasses (not the standard blue and red lenses you are used to) – the drawing ‘pops’ into 3D. Blues and purples sink below the surface of the driveway, reds and yellows seem to float at about mid-calf hieght – with the rest of the spectrum in between.
The net effect is that kids can actually ‘walk through’ the floating colors of their art. And yeah, it is just as cool as it sounds.
Also, each kit comes with a quick ‘how to’ book that teaches kids how to get even more impressive 3D results. Very simple to understand and just as easy to do.
Two larger, themed sets feature a set of four stencils (undersea or jungle adventure) so kids can ‘jump start’ a fun scene before adding to it with their own imagination.
“Not all of our ideas fit under our own corporate banner,” said Curt Covert, “so two years ago we began pitching ideas to much larger companies like Crayola, Hasbro, Mattel, Endless Games and Fundex to name a few. Great concepts that were far better suited to the more mainstream toy and game industry. Crayola was the first of what I hope will be many licenses we sign in the future. In fact, we’ll be pitching three new ideas next month. Wish us luck!”
