The good news: Your company’s sending you on a business trip across Europe. The bad news: You’ll be traveling for three weeks in blue face paint and white overalls.

Jokers’ Masquerade costume shop in Newbury, England, took a serious gamble when it focused its efforts on the 50th anniversary of the Smurfs cartoon. The shop was initially excited to fill a handful of orders for the blue and white costumes, but it quickly had excess stock when its Chinese supplier refused to sell fewer than 500 costumes at a time.

Rather than take the failure lying down and eat the cost of the costumes, Jokers’ instead sent employee Ian Tomkins on a three-week journey across the UK and Europe. Company owner Mark Lewis came up with the idea after seeing the French film Amelie, where a garden gnome is photographed at various world landmarks.

In essence, Tomkins became the Travelocity Traveling Gnome — only, he was a living, breathing employee.

The trip cost the company an additional $5,000 in hotel and airfare, but the Smurf appearances have paid off: Jokers’ has had to order thousands more costumes since Tomkins began his journey.

Of course, that’s no surprise to Jokers’ Marketing Manager, Beatrice Butler, who said: “There is a thiriving Smurf community across the UK and Europe who were very keen to celebrate the 50 years since their characters’ creation.”

Tags: Airfare, Jokers' Masquerade, Marketing, Smurfs, travel, Travelocity