I Love New York(stylizedINY) is aslogan,alogo,and asongthat are the basis of an advertising campaign developed by the marketing firm Wells, Rich, and Greene under the directorship ofMary Wells Lawrence[1]used since 1977 to promotetourismin the state ofNew York.[2][3]Theservice markedlogo, owned by theNew York State Department of Economic Development,[4]appears in souvenir shops and brochures throughout the state, some licensed, many not.

I Love New York
OwnerNY Department of Economic Development
Produced byNew York State Department of Commerce /Milton Glaser(designer)
CountryUnited States
IntroducedJuly 15, 1977(1977-07-15)
Registered as atrademarkin73758742
Websitewww.iloveny.com

"I Love New York" is the official state slogan of New York.[5]

The logo was designed by graphic designerMilton Glaserin 1976 in the back of a taxi and was drawn with red crayon on scrap paper.[6]The original drawing is held in theMuseum of Modern Artin Manhattan. The song was written bySteve Karmenand its copyright was donated by him to the state.

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The logo consists of the capital letterI,followed by a redheart symbol(), below which are the capital lettersNandY,set in the roundedslab seriftypefaceAmerican Typewriter.[7]

In 1976, William S. Doyle, Deputy Commissioner of theNew York State Department of Commercehired advertising agencyWells Rich Greeneto develop amarketingcampaign for the State of New York. Doyle also recruitedMilton Glaser,a productivegraphic designerto work on the campaign and create a design based on Wells Rich Greene's advertising campaign. Glaser's initial sketch to accompany the agency's "I Love New York" slogan was conceived in a taxi.[8]It comprised the letter S and L heart shape, followed by SL, all on the same line. As the idea developed, he decided to stack the I and the heart shape on a line above the NY characters, later stating that he may have been "subliminally" influenced by Robert Indiana'sLOVEpop art image.[9]

Nick Walker's "Love Vandal" at 17th Street and 6th Avenue in Manhattan, 2015

Glaser expected the campaign to last only a couple months and did the workpro bono.[7]The innovativepop-styleicon became a major success and has continued to be sold for years. In the popular mind (though this was not the original intention), the logo has become closely associated with New York City, and the placement of the logo on plain white T-shirts readily sold in the city has widely circulated the appearance of the image, making it a commonly recognized symbol. Glaser's original concept sketch and presentation boards were donated by Doyle to the permanent collection of theMuseum of Modern Art,New York.[9]

The image became especially prominent following theSeptember 11 attackson the city, which created a sense of unity among the populace. Many visitors to the city following the attacks purchased and wore the shirts bearing the I Love New York logo as a sign of their support. Glaser created a modified version to commemorate the attacks, reading "I Love NY More Than Ever", with a little black spot on the heart symbolizing theWorld Trade Center site.[7]The black spot approximates the site's location on lowerManhattanIsland. The poster was printed in theNew York Daily Newsand was a fundraiser for New York charities supporting those affected by the attacks. Added text at the bottom encouraged people to "Be generous. Your city needs you. This poster is not for sale."[7]

New York state anthem

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"I Love New York"

State anthem ofNew York
LyricsSteve Karmen,1977
MusicSteve Karmen, 1977
Published1977
Adopted1980

"I Love New York" was written and composed bySteve Karmenin 1977 as part of the advertising campaign. In 1980, GovernorHugh Careydeclared it as New York's state anthem, although not officially enacted into law. In a move that was remarkable for Karmen, who is well known for retaining the publishing rights to his songs, he gave the rights to the song to the state for free.[10]

Karmen wrote a new verse for the song in 2020, during the height of theCOVID-19 pandemic in New York Cityto emphasize the city's resilience.[11]However, it was never commercially recorded nor used.

Imitations

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ActorRobin Williamswearing aT-shirtwith the logo translated intoArabicas "I love ❤ New York", in 2003
An I ❤️ SH sign inShanghai, Chinain the style of "I love NY"

The logo has become a pop-culture icon, inspiring imitations in every corner of the globe. Merchandise proclaiming "I... "can be found wherever tourists gather. Parodies, such as" I[spayed ] My Pets "or" I[club]Seals",have also appeared.[12]Facetious expressions beginning "I heart...", are based on a literal reading of the logo (e.g., the 2004 independent filmI Heart Huckabeesand the audio conglomerateiHeartMedia).NYS[clarification needed]Licensedpin-back buttonswith a red version of theApple logoreplacing the heart (I  NY) were distributed at the 2001Macworld Expoin New York.

New York state government has repeatedly attempted to uphold its trademark; by 2005, the state had filed nearly 3,000 objections against imitators,[13]and 100 "trademark objections and cease-and-desist letters" were filed in 2012 alone.[14]Some objections have been ruled void, such as when a court concluded in 1980 that the producers ofSaturday Night Livedid not infringe on the copyrights of the "I Love New York" campaign with its "I LoveSodom"skit, ruling instead that it was a parody.[15][16]

Logo that appeared in October 2022[citation needed]

In March 2023, as part of a revitalisation campaign after the COVID-19 pandemic, thePartnership for New York Cityintroduced "We ❤️ NYC", a "modern twist" on the logo designed by a team led by Graham Clifford, which was posted throughout the city.[17]The text changes the state abbreviation "NY" to the city abbreviation "NYC", and the pronoun from I to "we". The graphic uses asans-seriffont inall caps,in which the heart symbol hasshadingand is larger and placed further off-center than in the "INY "graphic. Media reported criticism of both the slogan as unoriginal and the design as inelegant.[18][19][20]

See also

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References

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  1. ^Swanda, Jessica (April 21, 2018)."Famous Advertisers in History: Mary Wells Lawrence".Archivedfrom the original on 15 August 2021.Retrieved15 August2021.
  2. ^"I Love New York Logo".New York State Library - New York State Education Department.Archived fromthe originalon 2015-09-06.Retrieved2017-12-18.
  3. ^Kidd, Chip (1 September 2003)."An Interview with Milton Glaser".Believer Magazine.Archivedfrom the original on 19 May 2021.Retrieved19 May2021.
  4. ^"'I Love NY' products, contracted to companies by NYS, are made overseas ".WGRZ.April 1, 2016. Archived fromthe originalon July 2, 2020.RetrievedOctober 15,2016.The logo, according to products it's printed on, is the service mark of the state Department of Economic Development.
  5. ^"Consolidated Laws, Article 6, Section 88".Archivedfrom the original on 2020-07-10.Retrieved2020-03-31.
  6. ^Recently, researchers of the Visual Arts Department at UCSD suggested a possible reference for the creation of this logo. According to them, Conrado Martinez—an architect from Santa Barbara, California—created a similar image (1931) to show his respect and love for Oaxaca City (Mexico), destroyed because of an earthquake. Interestingly, as happened in NY, after the earthquake, Oaxaca started a process of reorganization of the users and the uses of the space, which later, in the '90s, culminated in a radical gentrification process.
  7. ^abcdLambert, Tiffany (September 11, 2013)."A Heart in the Right Place".Object of the Day.Smithsonian Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum.RetrievedSeptember 11,2013.
  8. ^"The Story Behind I Heart New York".Buy T-Shirts Online.March 19, 2015.
  9. ^abSooke, Alastair (February 7, 2011)."Milton Glaser: his heart was in the right place".The Daily Telegraph.Archivedfrom the original on September 14, 2023.RetrievedJuly 8,2015.
  10. ^Wansley, Joy (October 27, 1980)."They Call Steve Karmen 'the Beethoven of Spot Sonatas'—Meaning He's King of TV Jingles".People.14(17).ISSN0093-7673.Archivedfrom the original on March 4, 2016.RetrievedJanuary 1,2011.
  11. ^"Steve Karmen's" I Love New York "Gets Inspirational Update".www.radio.com.2020-04-06.Archivedfrom the original on 2020-10-20.Retrieved2021-03-12.
  12. ^Byrne, Robert (1988).1,911 Best Things Anybody Ever Said.New York:Ballantine Books.ISBN0-449-90285-4.
  13. ^Kirstin, Dorsch (July 18, 2005)."New York Loves Its Trademark".Bloomberg Businessweek.Archived fromthe originalon July 24, 2005.RetrievedJuly 28,2011.
  14. ^Newman, Andy (May 29, 2013)."A Cup Is at the Heart of a Trademark Dispute".The New York Times.Archivedfrom the original on May 30, 2013.RetrievedMay 30,2013.
  15. ^Chung, Jen (February 12, 2007)."Looking to Revive New York".Gothamist.Archived fromthe originalon April 30, 2014.RetrievedFebruary 13,2013.
  16. ^Elsmere Music v. National Broadcasting Co.June 9, 1980.
  17. ^"NEW YORK'S 'I LOVE NY' LOGO GETS A MAKEOVER".Upptaped New York.21 March 2023.Archivedfrom the original on 25 March 2023.Retrieved25 March2023.
  18. ^Stewart, Dodai (21 March 2023)."These New Yorkers Don't ❤️ the 'We ❤️NYC' Logo".The New York Times.Archivedfrom the original on 25 March 2023.Retrieved25 March2023.
  19. ^Natalie B. Compton (2023-03-21)."New Yorkers bond over new city logo: They hate it".The Washington Post.Archivedfrom the original on 2023-03-23.Retrieved2023-03-25.
  20. ^Gopnik, Adam (23 March 2023)."The 'We❤️NYC' Logo Flop".The New Yorker.Archivedfrom the original on 27 September 2024.Retrieved25 March2023.

Further reading

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