Yesterday I was a guest of Coca-Cola (arguably the most recognized brand in
the world) when they flew me up to Atlanta so I could meet with three VERY
fortunate (and cool, I might add) winners of Coca-Cola's Happiness
Ambassadors contest. The contest drew a ton of publicity outside the U.S.
which is why you are probably scratching your head thinking, “Why didn’t I
hear about it so I could’ve applied?” I’m with you! However, you certainly
will be reading about these travelers who, on January 1, 2010, are setting out
on a remarkable journey to – get this – 206 countries and territories (everywhere Coca-Cola is sold) in just 365 days. They are calculated
to travel more than 275,000 miles and their mission is to find out what
makes people happy.
The winners are: Tony Martin, 29, a native of Washington, D.C., Kelly
Ferris, 23, a university student from Brussels and Antonio Santiago, 24, a
university student from Mexico City. Before Coca-Cola announced the winners
to the public I was fortunate to spend a few hours with them (along with Jen
Leo) and take pictures during their photo op-friendly boot camp (foreign
language lesson, packing contest, airport security tutorial and a sampling of
foreign food).
The trio’s journey begins January 1 in Madrid, Spain and will end on December
31st in Atlanta, Georgia. Along the way they will be making appearances at
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. I
know it just makes you green with envy. Believe me, you’re not alone.
Below is one of their first interviews (if not the very first) as a team. You can
follow them in real time on every social network possible (Facebook, Flickr,
Twitter, YouTube) and for the convenience of their followers there’s one
central hub at Expedition206.com. As I warned the trio when I left –
don’t be surprised if you bump into me in some random country because I’m
totally intrigued by their expedition. Wow!
In honor of Geography Awareness Week, check out this Chicago Tribune
worldscape quiz. How well do you know the world? I didn’t score as high as predicted on this ten-question quiz. How’d you do? Email me if
you scored 10/10.
