This campaign urges New York to get back to business—now

By Amelia Anthony

A new grassroots campaign supported by the mayor’s office would like you to hear that, ready or not, the city is open for business.

As part of a campaign, called #NowYork, a loose-knit group of advertising executives urges you to stop pining for a pre-pandemic city—and stop waiting for some mythical better future version of New York. Instead, the new campaign for the city insists the city you want is here—now.

You may have already begun seeing the creative on digital billboards across the city as well as through promoted social posts on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter: With slick and splashy design, #NowYork is meant to be an uplifting campaign to show that the city is back in business. Its social posts rely on bold graphics—with the tagline “come out and play”—and promotes the city’s cultural institutions and popular restaurants by name.

The campaign comes, however, at a critical juncture of the coronavirus pandemic. The city’s Covid test positivity rate has plateaued at about 6 percent for several weeks according to city data—remaining stubbornly stuck even as vaccination rates go up. As recently as a week ago, nine communities in Brooklyn and Queens still had rates of over 10 percent. Around the country, cases and hospitalizations are increasing again. And with only 19 percent of the city’s population fully vaccinated, it’s not clear that New York is out of the woods.

“At its heart this is a campaign about hope and optimism,” says Rob Schwartz, CEO at the agency TBWA\CHIAT\DAY NY, who is working on this as a “no bono” side project. “Is it the right time? It’s always the right time for hope.”

And signs of hope abound. Coney Island opened back up for business on Friday, after 18 months of shutdown. And the first run of #NowYork creative does feature people wearing masks and gives shoutouts to borough stalwarts BAM, Brooklyn Academy of Music and Bushwick bar Rebecca’s, all appended with the word “now.” The campaign asks other local businesses to submit their names, which will be included down the line as well.

“One of the key pieces to this campaign is that this is an iterative campaign. This is like a live organism—and it grows as people get involved with it,” says Schwartz. “People are seeing it and reaching out. The Mets were interested in helping; the Yankees were interested in helping. Carolines comedy club saw it and reached out.”

The five-borough campaign has the support of the mayor’s office, which is not otherwise involved. In addition to Schwartz, the group behind the campaign comprises his former TBWA colleague Patrick O’Neill, along with Matt Scheckner, global CEO of Advertising Week, and other industry types.

(The same group was also behind the “Dog Lovers for Joe” campaign ahead of the 2020 election that reminded voters that Donald Trump was the first president in more than 100 years, from either party, not to have a dog in the White House.)

Launched this week, #NowYork is unfolding primarily through social media and online at https://nowyork.city.

“All of us had a visceral reaction to the notion that New York’s best days are in the past and we are just tired of being on the receiving end of an endless stream of bad news,” said Advertising Week’s Sheckner in a statement. “There are absolute signs of life across the City and that resilience which has always characterized New York City shines through.”