We are less than a week away from the International Day of Happiness, which happens to coincide with the first day of Spring, Sunday March 20th.  For the second year in a row, The Joy Team is leading a partnership to bring happy phrases to billboards across the nation, hoping to inspire people to be happy and kind.

The founder of The Joy Team, Michele McKeag Larsen, says “one positive message can make a huge difference in someone’s day.”  Larsen has partnered with The Natural Life for this year’s campaign, along with Clear Channel and Lamar Outdoor.  Founder and CEO of The Natural Life, Patti Hughes, says “the moment we saw the billboards and the story behind The Joy Team, we knew we wanted to be a part of it.”

The billboard campaign will run for 4 weeks, beginning today, and it is expected that more than 13 million people will see one of the billboards during the campaign.  Billboards were chosen as the advertising medium for the campaign because they cannot be turned off or have the channel changed.   The group adds that most people can’t help but read something they see because it’s automatic.

Atlanta was one of the cities in the campaign last year, and will be among the 31 cities featured this year as well.  This year’s message for the Atlanta billboard is “Believe in Yourself.”  Some of the other messages featured in the campaign include “Do more of what makes you happy,” “Slow down and enjoy life,” and “Everything will be ok.”