Our six year old LOVES the American Express “smiley face” commercials.  (although she thinks “leather face” pictured above looks “mean”).   I think the interesting thing about the commercials is the story behind them.

The person behind the smiley photos is photographer/artist Ruth Kaiser.  She began sharing her close ups of “spontaneous smileys” with her friends on facebook.  Now her smileys have spread to a website where others can upload and share the “smileys” they see, a book, a charitable drive to raise money for facial reconstruction through Operation Smile.  It’s amazing to me how one simple idea can become  viral, commercial, and charitable at the same time…all because one person saw “smileys” that everyone else overlooked.

What “smileys” do we overlook every day?