From Aruba to Zimbabwe and nearly every nation in between, a team of three young people will attempt to visit 206 countries where Coca-Cola is sold to seek out what makes people happy and share their happiness and enthusiasm with the rest of the world.
Dubbed ‘Expedition 206’, the year-long adventure throughout 2010 will bring Coca-Cola’s Open Happiness campaign to life as the travelers visit with people from different cultures, document their experiences and share stories of happiness throughout their journey.
People online around the world will play a role every step of the way, beginning with the opportunity to choose the team they want to see on the expedition.
“Coca-Cola, enjoyed by people in more than 200 countries, has always tried to express a positive view of the world,” said Shay Drohan, senior vice president of sparkling beverages, The Coca-Cola Company. “Expedition 206 gives us an opportunity to celebrate that optimism and happiness on a global scale in a very personal way. Sharing stories about what makes people happy is a unique way we are bringing our ‘Open Happiness’ campaign to life.”
Beginning in Madrid on Jan. 1, 2010, and culminating with a celebration at the World of Coca-Cola museum in Atlanta on Dec. 31, 2010, the story of the happiness ambassadors and their adventure will play out online with content for fans to follow via the expedition’s online headquarters at www.Expedition206.com, as well as on Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Flickr and other social networking sites.
“This mash-up of social media – online photo galleries, video clips, blogs, microblogs, social networking – combined with an amazing journey, enthusiastic travelers and a theme of happiness is a great way for us to connect with people around the world,” said Adam Brown, director, Office of Digital Communications and Social Media, The Coca-Cola Company. “The global adoption of social media has given us a way to deliver a year-long reality TV series without the TV.”
Fans engaging with the Expedition 206 Web site and other interactive online content will serve as virtual travel agents for the expedition team, giving suggestions on where they go, what they do and who they visit in each market. The expedition will make stops in cities big and small, visiting everyday people and marquee global events, such as the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games in Canada, the FIFA World Cup in South Africa, and the World Expo 2010 in Shanghai, China.
The diverse group of candidates includes finalists from the United States, Canada, China, Mexico, Australia, Germany, Belgium and Denmark. The candidates include:
* Dave Zwolenski, 27, an amateur film producer from Sydney, Australia
* Josephine Rosetzsky, 27, from Copenhagen, Denmark
* Sam Li, 21, born in Shanghai, China, and now a student in Vancouver, Canada
* Antonio Santiago, 24, a university student from Mexico City, Mexico
* Kelly Ferris, 22, a university student in Brussels, Belgium
* Tony Martin, 29, who grew up in the U.S. and now teaches kindergarten in Munich, Germany
* Greer Cornish, 26, a digital media producer from Sydney, Australia
* Brendan Madden, 31, living in Beijing, China, and originally from the U.S.
* Erin Guler, 28, whose parents are from Turkey and is currently a writer in Toronto, Canada
Source: Business Wire
Net News Publisher for World News
