Coca Cola to launch Expedition 206 in 2010
22 Oct 2009
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. The Three Travellers will also visit India, Nepal, Maldives in the first week of April 2010
Dubbed 'Expedition 206', the year-long adventure throughout 2010 will bring Coca-Cola's Open Happiness campaign to life as the travellers 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 critical role every step of the way, beginning with the opportunity to choose the team they want to see on the expedition. After an extensive search, Coca-Cola has selected nine finalists, but fans will make the final decision by visiting www.Expedition206.com through 6 November, 2009, to vote for their favorite candidates. Fans can vote once each day throughout the three-week voting period.
''Coca-Cola 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 1 January 2010, and culminating with a celebration at the World of Coca-Cola museum in Atlanta on 31 December, 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 adoption of social media, especially by our target audience, has given us a way to deliver a year-long reality TV series without the TV.''
