“That’s 602,” says Gary King, climbing down from a ladder propped up against a telephone poll, a red and white sign reading “HAPPINESS” newly affixed to its side.
“All I’m doing is subliminal experiments using one word, one word. This word has been around forever but where do you see it? You don’t.”
King has been hanging metal Happiness signs all over St. Petersburg, Florida, since 2019. It’s all part of The Happiness Experiment, a sociology project to subtly influence the population of his hometown through subliminal advertisement.
Profiled in Fox News 13’s “Extraordinary Ordinaries” segment with Walter Allen, King says six proven sociological effects go into his work, the most powerful of which is what advertising companies have done for a century. By putting their logos everywhere, their products remain at the front of your mind.
But what if instead of selling soft drinks or fast food, the goal of that advertisement was to put a smile on your face? That’s King’s mission.
But as joyful as Gary King may seem driving around his home in his F150 wearing his official Happiness Experiment t-shirt and ballcap, the crucible of this happy work was the darkest depths of despair.
In 2012, his son Brian took his own life, leading King into a spiral of unhappiness that almost resulted in him doing the same. The Happiness Experiment’s first test subject was none other than King himself.
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Today, King revels in messages received from Floridians who see the signs all over Florida and are affected by them.
“I first saw the happiness experiment TB signs on the day of my miscarriage last year. The signs reminded me that it was all going to be okay, and that I could find happiness during and after this,” read a letter he received.
In another letter, a woman bearing the burden of severe bipolar disorder almost ended her life—from the edge of the very same bridge King’s son Brian used to end his. But on her way there she saw one of the Happiness signs and turned around with fresh perspective.
Perhaps that’s why King said the greatest gift he ever received was his suffering.
WATCH King on Extraordinary Ordinaries with Walter Allen…
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