Sony fails to break world record held by Newbury firm

Sony Pictures Entertainment tried to break the unusual record for the greatest number of people dressed as a Smurf

SONY Pictures Entertainment has failed in its attempt to break the Guinness World Record for the greatest number of people dressed as a Smurf in a single location - a record currently held by Newbury fancy dress company Jokers' Masquerade.

Sony attempted to break the record of 2,510 people dressed as Smurfs at the official release of The Smurfs 3D feature film at the O2 Arena's Live Quarter in London on Saturday, but failed with a total of just 2,082 smurfs.

Online fancy dress specialists, Jokers' Masquerade, based in Kennet Side, Newbury, broke the record at Oceana Nightclub in Swansea on June 9, 2009, with help from students of Swansea University who more than doubled the previous world record.

Managing Director of Jokers' Masquerade, Mark Lewis, said: “It's no surprise to us that we have companies like Sony hot on our heels trying to break our hard earned Guinness World Record, we say 'Well done to Sony' but our world record will be around for a while and we challenge anyone who dare break it because our total of 2,510 will be hard to beat, especially if a billion dollar company like Sony with infinite resources can't beat Jokers' Masquerade.”