Paris, Rome, New York, London: one thing they have in common is that, regardless of their latitudes, they can knock us out. Therefore, a community spirit, under a slogan involving emotions, is what is needed to lift people’s spirits.
Someone who was well aware of this was Milton Glaser, the great designer who in 1977 created the campaign that put a heart between the “I” and NY, New York. What if, swopping a couple of letters, instead of “I love” we were to ask ourselves what do “l owe” the city? The result wouldn’t change as we’re quite sure that the word “love” would be among the first three thoughts that spring to mind. We owe the city love for all the persons and jobs we’ve found there, encounters that would perhaps not have happened elsewhere. Even those who come from small places love the luxury of anonymity that you only get in a big city.
The iconic Big Apple logo has been retired and has been refreshed with a new font (based on the Subway’s lettering). It now reads “we love”: implicitly, the community are being invited to take care of their city. All you need is love, and one hour a week, so they say. “What we can do for the city”, with its accent on community spirit, could become the new slogan. Let’s remember this, and demonstrate true sportsmanship every time those daily blows our cities deal us make us feel like engaging in a boxing match with them.