Archive for the ‘fun’ tag
Smiley Face
The Yellow Smiley’s Turbulent History
Yellow Smileys and Their History
Today’s internet culture
involves a lot of use of smiley faces and emoticon faces, which add feeling to
text communication and eliminate ambiguity and misunderstandinds. They are used extensively in email, chat messages, and bulletin board and forum posts. But the yellow smiley face that lies at the root of all those internet emoticons has a real history to it that few people know about.
The yellow and black smiley face design that we are all so familiar with was first created by artist Harvey Ball in 1963, for an advertising campaign of State Mutual Life Insurance. In the 1970s the smiley exploded in popularity when it was used on a collection of novelty products created by Bernard and Murray Spain. Featuring the pleasant catchphrase “Have a happy day”, some of the best-selling products included coffee mugs, t-shirts, stickers, buttons and badges, etc. This simple image and message presented a pleasant reminder to the busy person to slow down a little and
enjoy life every day.
A number of parties including the 300 pound gorilla known as Walmart have attempted to claim copyright title to the smiley image. Walmart utilized the smiley image in a massive 2006 promo campaign, and attempted to claim legal title to the image. A battle between them and Harvey Bell, as well as another company called “Smiley World” which licenses the smiley in many countries, ensued. In 2008 a judge ruled that Walmart did not own the image, recognizing that it has been around for decades. After that, Walmart slowly began to move away from using the image, removing it from advertising and its website.
The smiley is such an incredinly simple image that there is little doubt that multiple imaginations could have “created” the same icon, so it makes sense that there are multiple copyright claims. But it makes sense that Harvey Ball should claim the copyright based on his conviction to use proceeds from the smiley icon for charity work. His kindness and generosity are wonderful reflections of the spirit of the image and its positivity.
About the Author
Billy Bobb specializes in graphic design and web design. Check out his favorite clipart at Clipart For Free, with Smiley Face Clip Art and more.
‘Smiley Face’ Trailer
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PinBack Button Badge Pin Funny Gag Gift – SMILEY FACE $1.25 |
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Smiley Face Compact Mirror $11.99 |
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Sterling Silver & Yellow Orange Rhinestone Smiley Face Earrings for Pierced $16.00 |
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Sterling Silver & White Rhinestone Smiley Face Earrings for Pierced $16.00 |
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Sterling Silver & Green Rhinestone Smiley Face Earrings for Pierced $18.00 |
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Sterling Silver & Light Blue Rhinestone Smiley Face Earrings for Pierced $18.00 |
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Sterling Silver & Red Rhinestone Smiley Face Earrings for Pierced $16.00 |
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Lot 5 Smiley Face Reward Stickers fr Children Teachers $0.99 |
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Trik Topz Smiley Face Valve Caps pr. Yellow – NEW VC011 $3.49 |
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Free Shipping Japanese Fashion Stripe Smiley Face Tunic Top Dress S $24.99 |
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VINTAGE BRIGHT YELLOW SMILEY FACE HEART BANK CERAMIC POTTERY MCCOY? $9.99 |
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VINTAGE 1930′S SNAPSHOT PHOTO 3 BIG HAPPY SMILEY FACES BOYS & GIRL WINTER COATS $16.85 |
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3pc Happy Smiley Face Ball Key Chain Key Ring Party Gift TOY $0.66 |
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1960′s 60′s Party PEACE SIGN TIE / TYE DYE FUN FLOWER SMILEY FACE TEMP TATTOOS $3.50 |
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Miniature Wooden Smiley Face Happy Face Folk Art Cabin Art Brooch Pin #1 $5.00 |
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GYMBOREE FLOWER SHOWER HAPPY FACE SMILEY YELLOW BRACELET NWT 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 $9.99 |
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Have a great day rainbow smiley face cute funny mens size t-shirt tee shirt $9.99 |
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Have a great day rainbow smiley face cute funny mens size t-shirt tee shirt $13.99 |
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Have a great day rainbow smiley face cute funny mens size t-shirt tee shirt $14.99 |
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Have a great day rainbow smiley face cute funny mens size t-shirt tee shirt $14.99 |
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Fred and Friends Gin and Titonic Ice Cube Tray $4.44 This gin & titonic ice tray makes 4 iceberg and 4 ocean liner shaped ice cubes. Made from food-safe silicone rubber. Just add gin…. |
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Fred and Friends Have an Ice Day Icetray $3.57 This superb silicone ice cube tray is the ideal way to brighten up your day! Create smiley faces for all your beverages and enjoy the perks of an ice cool drink. Have an Ice Day creates 7 ice cubes, so you can have a smile every day of the week!Our novelty ice cube trays make fantastic gifts for Birthdays, Christmas and house warmings. Thanks to the flexible silicone, you can also create chocolate… |
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Wilton Smiley Face Baking Cups $2.35 WILTON-Standard Baking Cups. The easiest way to dress up a cupcake! Ideal for holding candy and nuts too! Microwave safe. Paper size: 2in. Number of baking cups varies by design. Imported…. |
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New Faces [VHS] $12.49 … |
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Happy Face Murders [VHS] $54.99 … |
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Carl Hurley’s Sunny Side Up: Keep on a Smiley Face $22.90 Haven’t we all known people who go through life looking like they’ve been weaned on pickle juice, who look as if they smiled their face would crack into a thousand pieces? Carl says, “keep your sunny side up! “Everyone will be happier. And the world be just a little better for it. Remember, rain clouds come into all our lives, but we have a lot to say about which side of the cloud we live on.” Thi… |
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Graduation Smiley Face Car Antenna Topper $1.99 Share your academic happiness as you drive with this fun foam car antenna ball! This 2-1/2″ smiling yellow topper make thoughtful gift for your senior. Topper is brand new…. |
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Sixties Theme Purple Leopard / Cheetah and Zebra Print Peace Sign Wall Decals / Stickers $22.99 This 60′s inspired Leopard / Cheetah and Zebra Print Theme removable wall sticker set measures 17.33in X 25in. 13 individually cut out wall stickers. The Peace Sign Wall Decals are 16inches in diameter. The Love heart Decal is about 9inches in diameter. The largest Zebra Print smiley face Wall Decal are 9inches in diameter The smaller smiley face Wall Stickers vary in size from 2 1/2 to 3inch… |
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Sixties Theme Pink Peace Sign Leopard, Cheetah, and Zebra Print Wall Decals / Stickers $22.99 This 60′s inspired Leopard / Cheetah and Zebra Print Theme removable wall sticker set measures 17.33in X 25in. 13 individually cut out wall stickers. The Peace Sign Wall Decals are 16inches in diameter. The Love heart Decal is about 9inches in diameter. The largest Zebra print smiley face Wall Decal are 9inches in diameter The smaller smiley face Wall Stickers vary in size from 2 1/2 to 3inch… |
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Smiley Face $3.37 Director Gregg Araki (“Splendor”) presents this hilarious comedy concerning a slacker actress who eats a batch of cupcakes belonging to her nutty roommate–unaware that they are laced with marijuana. After getting baked from the baked goods, she enlists her roomie’s lusty pal to help get her to an audition and pay back a drug dealer–resulting in plenty of laughs. Anna Faris, John Krasinski, Adam … |