US Ad of the Day: ‘I ♥ NY’ gets modified to ‘We ♥ NYC’
After 46 years of lining New York City gift shops, ‘I ♥ NY’ is becoming ‘We ♥ NYC’ in hopes of better reflecting the city’s collective identity.
Get ready, New Yorkers (and tourists): the iconic ‘I ♥ NY’ logo designed by graphic designer Milton Glaser in 1977 has been updated to ‘We ♥ NYC.’
Launched by The Partnership for New York City, ‘We ♥ NYC’ launched yesterday at a press conference hosted by Governor Kathy Hochul and Mayor Eric Adams in Times Square and featured a performance by Anna Uzele, the lead in the upcoming Broadway show New York, New York.
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Upon first glance, many might ask, “Why touch something as iconic as ‘I ♥ NY?’” According to a press release, the new logo is meant to represent “a community driven by ‘we’ not ‘me’ and is diverse, universal and inclusive, appealing to all age groups and ethnicities.”
A new 30-second TV spot promoting the rebranding further emphasizes diversity through the voices of its inhabitants. In the film, New Yorkers of all different backgrounds and accents explain what they love about New York City using ”we” statements.
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”We love a $1 slice,” says one person. Then, another adds: ”We love using our driver’s license for everything but driving,” and so on.
The multichannel campaign is now running throughout all five boroughs of the city. It includes print ads in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, The New Yorker and New York Magazine. Meanwhile, billboards are currently lit with the campaign message in Times Square. Other activations include wild postering created by artists from by The Network, digital, social and TV.
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Independent creative agency Founders developed the campaign. “Being able to work on a campaign for the most iconic city in the world is thrilling and I cannot be more proud that Founders is part of this historic moment,” Founders’ chief operative officer Tanya de Poli said in a statement.
“There was so much collaboration to bring this to life – from local NYers to global artists – and to now see it all around NYC has been incredible to experience.”
Credits:
Lead creative agency: Founders
Lead campaign consultant: MaryamB
Lead media agency: Grain Group
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