Joy Team to spread message on billboards in 19 cities

The Joy Team is taking its positive-message billboards across the nation this month.

The Vancouver nonprofit organization’s messages will be displayed on 37 billboards (22 static and 15 digital) for four weeks in 19 cities.

Billboards with positive messages aimed to spread joy, optimism and inspiration will start popping up next week, forming a smiley face when you connect the dots on a U.S. map.

The messages are part of Smile Across America, a national campaign from The Joy Team to help Americans celebrate and rekindle their inner joy in honor of International Day of Happiness on March 20.

It is believed to be the first time billboard advertising has been intentionally placed in the shape of a smile. The smile starts in Vancouver on Northeast Minnehaha Street with “Be excellent to each other,” then moves to Portland with “Happiness is contagious. Start an epidemic” on Northeast Lombard Street and “You are so freaking awesome” on Northwest St. Helens Road.

Other joyous billboards will be displayed in California, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Washington, D.C., Maryland, Pennsylvania and New York.

The “eyes” of the smiley face are made by billboards in Minnesota, Iowa, Montana and Wyoming.

Local businesses and families providing support for the project include Total Merchant Concepts, Cobalt Designworks, the Maddux family, Up Your Creative Genius, Emer Kelly, Heather Strang and NNNet Advisors. The number of impressions (smiles) over the four-week period is estimated at 10 million.

A complete list of the smile cities, the messages and the supporting partners is listed at SmileAcrossAmerica.com.