On January 1, 2010, Tony Martin, Kelly Ferris and Antonio Santiago—who were selected as part of a worldwide online vote—set off from Madrid, Spain, on an unprecedented journey known as Coca‑Cola Expedition 206. The mission: visit 206 countries and territories where Coca-Cola is sold—or as many as they possibly could in one year—to seek out and document sources of happiness around the world. Now, one year later, it’s time to show the results of this quest to find what makes people happy.
More than 275,000 miles, 186 countries, and 365 days after hitting the road, the team of three “happiness ambassadors” arrived this morning at the World of Coca‑Cola museum in Atlanta, crossing the finish line on one of the world’s most ambitious travel adventures. Along the way, fans of Expedition 206 around the world served as «virtual travel agents» for the team members, helping decide where they should go, what they should do and who they should meet when they arrived at a new destination.
The team was greeted at the finish line by some of the happiest people they met during the expedition, who came to Atlanta from places like China, Ukraine and South Korea. As part of the festivities, the team members shared highlights of their journey and the common themes of happiness they uncovered—family, friends, music, sports and food. From Aruba to Zimbabwe and nearly everywhere in between, the team members brought their adventure to life for fans and followers in real-time, on www.Expedition206.com and a variety of social networking sites, including YouTube, Twitter, Flickr Facebook.
ople together in a global conversation about happiness, highlighting stories of positivity and optimism that people everywhere were eager to share,» said Clyde Tuggle, senior vice president of global public affairs and communications at The Coca‑Cola Company. «With a journey that nearly matched the reach of the Coca‑Cola brand, combined with the global adoption of social media, the Expedition 206 team was able to share the many moments of happiness they found in the almost 200 countries they visited, with millions of people around the world.»
The legacy of Expedition 206 will live on beyond the finale in Atlanta. Throughout the journey, the team received specially designed Coca‑Cola bottles created by artists from around the world, decorated to represent happiness in the local culture. These one-of-a-kind bottles will be displayed in a special collection at the World of Coca‑Cola museum. In addition, the photos, videos and memories collected during the journey are being compiled for a planned documentary film expected to be released later in 2011.