Smiley, the happiest brand ever, was founded by Franklin Loufrani in 1971 through a newspaper promotion aimed at making people happy. Using the logo to highlight good news, it allowed readers to see the bright side of life throughout any day. In 1997, FranklinÍs son Nicolas introduced the first emoticons, which would become the universe of SmileyWorld and a staple of the vocabulary for the digital generation today. Smiley has also always had strong links to music, where the Smiley face was adopted by the 1970s peace and love movement and then became the icon for the global explosion of dance music in the 1980s. Over 4 decades, Smiley has become the most recognizable icon in the world and remains so to this day. However, Smiley is more than just an icon, brand and lifestyle, it's a spirit and a philosophy and exists to remind people of how powerful a smile can be. The Smiley Company is one of the TOP150 licensing companies in the world. The trademark is registered in over 100 countries and in more than 12 product categories and has significant exposure through licensees in sectors such as clothing, home decor, perfumery, plush, stationery, publishing and more.