The Smiley

Did you know that the Smiley is more than 50 years old? 

The 1960s
Making people happy

The smiley started life in the USA in 1963. The employees of an incurance company were worried about their jobs, so the boss asked a graphic artist to create an image to make them happy. The artist, Harvey Ball, drew a yellow smiling face in just ten minutes. The company printed thousands of badges with the smiley face. People loved it!

The 1970s
The Smiley goes to France

In 1971, two Amerian brothers pur the smiley on a card with the words "Have a nice day". They also produced T-shirts, mugs and badges.
At the same time, Frenchman Franklin Loufrani used smileys to highlight the good news in a newspaper. He trademarked the smiley and created his "Smiley Company"... which sold Smiley merchandising.