Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
Arts & Entertainment
Cuomo Doesn't Heart New York, Bastardizes Iconic Logo
By
Jen Chung
Published May 31, 2012
Modified May 31, 2012
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
By
Jen Chung
Published May 31, 2012
Modified May 31, 2012
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Governor Andrew Cuomo is really great at getting things done (same sex marriage! budgets! teacher evaluations!), so if he wants to change the iconic "I ❤ NY" logo, then why the hell not? He has just launched a $5 million campaign to "remake the 'I Love NY' logo by submitting personal sketches depicting what they love about New York State." Cuomo explains, "This campaign reinvents one of our state's great assets - the 'I Love NY' icon - which is known the world over as one of the most successful advertising symbols ever. This campaign brings that icon to life in order to highlight all of the things people love about New York."
The effort is to boost tourism, which in turn boosts the economy. You can submit your ideas at iloveny.com or by emailing [email protected]. But do you know who is perplexed by this campaign? Milton Glaser, the designer behind the logo! Glaser told the Post, “I don’t understand it... I saw one that said, ‘I Pizza NY.’ I don’t get it." (We think Adam Kuban gets it.) Anyway, we've also asked Bobby Zarem, who says he developed the slogan "I Love New York" for comment—we're sure he'll have something to say!
Ad agency BBDO helped work on the "remaking" campaign and chairman David Lubars said that the logo, while great, had lost its effectiveness, "That icon has been co-opted by literally the rest of the world. If you go to Russia, if you go to Spain, you see I heart something and it’s lost its New York cachet." Um, how about New York just owns it—the ads haven't been around in three years.
According to the News, "Brian Sheehan, an advertising professor at Syracuse University, warned Cuomo’s logo tinkering could suffer the same fate as New Coke — Coca-Cola’s disastrous effort to introduce a new formula in the mid-1980s. 'You should mess with an icon at your own risk,' said Sheehan, a former executive at Saatchi & Saatchi."
Tagged
andrew cuomo
governor cuomo
milton glaser
new york state tourism
tourism
Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE arts-entertainment
A visit to Art of Play, the Brooklyn store in an animatronic bird beef with Kelly Clarkson
"Kelly Clarkson has put us in danger," says the co-owner of Art of Play.
By
Sonia Rao
Published Oct 13, 2026
The hottest way to show you're an authentic New Yorker is… riding a Citi Bike?
Thanks to Dua Lipa, Kim Kardashian, Timothée Chalamet and more, the rideshare program is having a moment.
By
Lindsay Lee Wallace
Arts & Entertainment
The hottest way to show you're an authentic New Yorker is… riding a Citi Bike?
Thanks to Dua Lipa, Kim Kardashian, Timothée Chalamet and more, the rideshare program is having a moment.
By
Lindsay Lee Wallace
Is NYC’s hottest attraction the free observation deck at 1 Centre Street?
By
James Ramsay
What happens when NYC kids take lessons in rock music? Really good bands.
By
Jayson Greene
Inside a photographer's journey to visit every neighborhood in New York City
By
Sonia Rao
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .