SCOTCH whisky brand Johnnie Walker recently launched its happiness-centered “The Way I Walk” campaign as well as the campaign’s faces, a press release from its parent firm announced this week.

“Mountaineer Romi Garduce and musician, actress, and blogger Saab Magalona are among a growing number of people who epitomize a way of thinking that challenges the conventional wisdom that success leads to happiness,” the statement read.

“Instead, these remarkable personalities celebrate the fact that happiness actually helps people achieve more.”

The new global campaign declares joy “the key to meaningful progress” and highlights people “who credit the power of joy with taking them further. Its global endorsers include Formula One world champion and McLaren Honda driver Jenson Button, actor Jude Law, American alternative rock band OK Go, and Mr. Garduce — the Philippines’ first “global ambassador” for the whisky brand, according to the statement.

Mr. Garduce is the first and so far only Filipino to have climbed the Seven Summits, the highest mountains of each of the seven continents.

Dr. Matt Killingsworth, a US-based psychologist who studies human happiness, was a consultant for the campaign. “People sometimes think of happiness as a far-off, distant prize only to be won by their years of hard work or when they achieve conventional markers of success, like a higher income or a bigger house. But there is a growing body of evidence that enjoying happiness along the way makes success more likely,” he was quoted saying.

For his part, Jon Good, general manager of Johnnie Walker parent Diageo Philippines, Inc., said: “Evidence is confirming a conviction that sits at the heart of our brand: ‘Joy will take you further.’

TURKEY’S state-owned tea production company has been fined by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan over a TV commercial deemed insulting to ayran, the country’s yoghurt-based “national drink.”

In the commercial for “Didi,” a popular iced tea product made by state-owned Caykur, Turkish rap star Ceza sings: “I’ve tried ayran; it makes me sleepy.”

Turkey’s trade ministry ordered Caykur to pay 220,000 Turkish liras ($75,000) for “insulting ayran without a reason and giving consumers a wrong message aimed at decreasing the consumption of ayran.”

The company was also ordered to stop airing the ad, which the ministry said constituted “unfair competition against companies that sell ayran,” Hurriyet newspaper reported on Sunday.

Mr. Erdogan, a devout Muslim who does not smoke or drink, has urged people to imbibe  the frothy, salted beverage and declared it in 2013 the “national drink” of Turkey rather than raki, a strong aniseed-flavored liquor.

The authorities are accused of setting up a cult of personality around Mr. Erdogan, who became president last year after over a decade as prime minister.

The number of prosecutions for “insulting” the head of state have risen since he became the president. Artists, journalists, and schoolchildren have all been targeted. — AFP

LOS ANGELES — US theme park SeaWorld announced Monday that it planned to phase out its signature orca show, which has come under intense criticism in recent years.

The company said the orca show at its second biggest park in San Diego would be replaced in 2017 with a new “informative” attraction in a more natural setting.

“We are not limited to any one animal, to any one show, to any one attraction,” CEO Joel Manby said in making the announcement to investors, at an event that was Webcast.

“We are listening to our guests; we’re evolving as a company; we’re always changing.”

SeaWorld suffered a backlash and saw attendance plummet at its 11 parks, particularly in California, in the wake of the critically-acclaimed 2013 documentary Blackfish, which spotlighted the impact of captivity on orcas.

It has since endeavored to reverse its misfortunes with a new marketing campaign and discount offers.

On Monday, Mr. Manby unveiled to investors a five-point plan to boost the company’s image and declining attendance, including building awareness around the brand, bringing in new talent, and launching new attractions.

“The issue is, we need to break through the noise,” said Jill Kermes, senior corporate affairs officer.

“We need to get the information flow to a net positive.”

But, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, which has long clashed with the Miami-based marine tourist attraction, said SeaWorld’s announcement on the orca show did not go far enough.

Jared Goodman, director of animal law at PETA, said while it was necessary for SeaWorld to end the “tawdry circle-style shows,” the company needed to stop keeping orcas in captivity.

“This move is like no longer whipping lions in a circus act, but keeping them locked inside cages for life; or no longer beating dogs, but never letting them out of crates,” he said.

Last week, California lawmaker Adam Schiff said he planned to introduce a new bill that would phase out the captivity of orcas and prohibit their breeding, measures that would effectively spell the end of SeaWorld’s whale shows.

“The evidence is very strong that the psychological and physical harm done to these magnificent animals far outweighs any benefits reaped from their display,” Mr. Schiff said.

“We cannot be responsible stewards of our natural environment and propagate messages about the importance of animal welfare when our behaviors do not reflect our principles.”

He said the bill — the Orca Responsibility and Care Advancement (ORCA) Act — will ensure that this will be the last generation of orcas who live in captivity.

SeaWorld responded by saying that it treated its animals with dignity and that it had not captured a whale in the wild in 35 years.

“While efforts to phase out whales in human care may strike an emotional chord, SeaWorld and other science-based organizations are part of the solution, not the problem,” it said. — AFP