Life

Celebrating a happy partnership

By Zhu linyong (China Daily)
Updated: 2011-01-06 07:56

Liu Xiang, a miniature version of Haibao, and Kelly Ferris at the World of Coca-Cola. Provided to China Daily

Liu Xiang, one of China's best-known athletes, and Haibao - the blue-colored mascot of Shanghai Expo 2010 - were the focus of attention at the World of Coca-Cola (WOCC), the company's museum near its global headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia, United States.

Over the past year, a miniature version of Haibao has accompanied Coca-Cola's team of three young "Happiness Ambassadors" - Tony Martin, 30, a Washington DC, native who teaches kindergarten in Munich; Kelly Ferris, 23, a university student from Brussels; and Antonio Santiago, 24, a university student from Mexico City - on a global adventure, dubbed Expedition 206.

Their 365-day journey to countries where Coca-Cola is sold kicked off on Dec 30, 2009 in Madrid, Spain and was aimed at "finding out what makes people happy around the world".

As they traveled the world, the team also "brought a taste of the World Expo to each stop along the route", noted Scott McCune, vice president for global partnerships and experiential marketing for Coca-Cola.

The team documented their trip of seeking stories of happiness, on www.Expedition206.com, and a variety of social networking sites, including Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter.

The year-long trip culminated in the Atlanta celebration on Dec 29, just before the dawn of the New Year.

The trio admitted that they made it to just 186 countries, not the 206 they had planned on - partly owing to security concerns and logistics.

Mother Nature also posed a challenge. For instance, an August trip to Bermuda was re-scheduled for December, thanks to a hurricane; and Christmas was spent in Ireland when snow stranded the ambassadors.

"But it was a landmark expedition, and a great opportunity to share the passion of my home city and my country," says hurdler Liu Xiang.

The Shanghai native has brought back the much traveled Haibao to Shanghai Expo Museum for permanent display.

"We are honored to escort Haibao back to its home in Shanghai," Liu adds.

He also presented a giant-size replica of Haibao for permanent display at WOCC.

The WOCC also displayed contributions from the Coca-Cola Happiness Factory, the corporate pavilion at the Expo, which included the PlantBottle and Navy 111, a chair made of 111 recycled PET bottles.

"Coca-Cola was both honored and proud to be part of the largest exhibition in history, Expo 2010," says Scott McCune.

"It has been an amazing journey to tap into the passion, and excitement of more than a billion netizens - sharing the excitement of the Expo and Haibao's global journey, with the world."

Coca-Cola was the first US company to independently become a Global Partner of the Shanghai World Expo in Dec 2007.

Since then, Coca-Cola has actively supported the World Expo Bureau by producing a commemorative bottle featuring Haibao; announcing its creation of the Coca-Cola Corporate Pavilion; launching the Green Innovation Campaign among university students across China; and sending Haibao on a global journey, to promote the Expo, along with three Coca-Cola ambassadors, to visit a planned 206 countries in 2010.