WITHOUT EVEN RUNNING IN CUPBOARDS OR PASSPORTS, looking for a customs stamp or a barely used peanut butter jar (and intended to reach its expiration date in this condition three years later), it turns out to be extremely simple to identify a tourist who recently set foot on New York soil. In many cases, it is shod in a pair of new and garish Nike, and sports, in one place or another, the logo “I love NY” or one of its variations … Designed by the American graphic designer Milton Glaser in 1975 at the request of the City – eager to promote its image -, the “I love NY” logo, written in American Typewriter typography, became the universal aesthetic signature of the place, far exceeding the famous white “NY” on the navy background of the New York Yankees. Sold in all the shops of the metropolis and in particular in the duty-free of the airports, the products “I love NY” thus constitute today the most obvious memories of an escapade in the Big Apple, and are still the most important means. easy to get rid of his dollars in rab before the return flight.
Just like slippers imported from a stay in Tunisia or massage oils brought back from Thailand, “I love NY” products – whether it is a round neck T-shirt, a tie, a hooded sweatshirt or even a thong that one would not wish for anything to see protruding from low-rise pants – are therefore characterized above all by their extreme banality. And no matter if the message is cleverly diverted (“I love NY”, “I love NY”, “I love NY” …), the feeling of déjà vu will win out all the same. is the opposite objective of that which will be achieved. Eager to assert his privilege as an inter-continental tourist and his sense of adventure, the proud owner of these “I love NY” clothes will appear incapable, in the eyes of others, of thinking outside the box. Worse, brought back to his state of primary tourist, map in hand, banana waist and camera slung, he will be a victim of the most global and uninhibited marketing there is …
Because that’s what it is, yes. Unbeknownst to him, and by blandly expressing his affection for New York, the tourist wearing the famous “I love NY” seems to endorse the excesses of American liberalism and its glaring injustices. The proof ? It was for free and out of pure love for his city that Milton Glaser created the “I love NY” logo, believing it would disappear from radar after two months. Since then, if his talent as a graphic designer has also largely enabled him to make a fortune, this creation has never earned him a single dollar. What a slab!
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