The Potential of Joy
Johnnie Walker celebrated the launch of its new Joy Will Take You Further campaign, with an exclusive event at the New York City.
Scotch whisky brand Johnnie Walker celebrated the launch of its new Joy Will Take You further campaign, with an exclusive event at the New York City headquarters of The Explorers Club, the world-famous non-profit organisation. The campaign champions the power of joy in driving progress and the event featured a unique panel discussion on the potential of joy.
Among those speaking at the gathering were: Michael Strahan, pro football Hall of Famer and Live! with Kelly and Michael co-host; Doug Ellin, screenwriter and creator of the HBO television series and feature film Entourage; Eva Håkansson, inventor and world electric-powered motorcycle speed record holder; and Dr. Matt Killingsworth, leading psychologist and happiness expert.
Brian Cox, Director, Scotch whisky North America at Diageo, said of the event: “We feel privileged to be holding this event in the inspirational halls of The Explorers Club, a group which believes that Joy Will Take You Further. The study of joy and progress – something that we call Joynomics – shows us that happiness makes success more likely. Members of The Explorers Club have explored the furthest reaches of land, air, sea and space and having stood on the summit of Everest and the surface of the moon, are living proof of how finding joy in our everyday lives and pursuits can help us achieve more than we thought possible.”
Michael Strahan championed the impact that happiness has had on his progress: “If your starting point is happiness, there is no limit to what you can achieve. The turning point in my career was adopting a more positive outlook and reconnecting with the enjoyment of genuinely ‘playing’ the game. Making that decision gave me a new impetus and new energy.”
The Joy Will Take You Further event saw the premiere of a new experiment developed in partnership with Dr. Matt Killingsworth, a US-based psychologist and scientist who studies human happiness. The experiment – called Can Joy Improve Performance? – showed how golfers could boost the accuracy of their shots when positively, rather than negatively, primed by their coach.
The results were impressive, with 100% of participants showing increased accuracy when positively primed. On average the accuracy of participants increased by 45%. Commenting on the experiment, Dr. Killingsworth said: “What this experiment shows us – albeit with a limited sample size – is that having a joyful perspective on the task in hand can actually boost our performance.”
Can Joy Improve Performance? is the first in a series of experiments that the brand will release in the weeks ahead. Cox added: “Johnnie Walker has been a progressive and innovative brand since it was founded by John Walker in 1820. Our journey from Scotland to the four corners of the world has shown us that finding happiness along the way can help us reach our goals. This experiment is just one example of the increasing evidence which supports our belief that Joy Will Take You Further.”