New York Loves You

White heart with black text on a red background.

The "New York Loves You" campaign was initiated in 1981 and designed by Katherine Manisco, an art director at the advertising agency Wells, Rich, and Greene. The new campaign served as an extension of 1977's "I ♥ NY" campaign, also designed by Wells, Rich, and Greene, as well as graphic artist Milton Glaser. At the time, New York City was making a concerted effort to rebrand itself from a crime-ridden, nearly bankrupt city in 1975, to a hospitable tourist destination. New York State deputy commerce commissioner Natel Matschulat hoped that the new slogan would make tourists feel "welcomed," and "sensitize people to the need to love tourists."