Fifth Avenue is inseparable from the history of modern advertising in New York City.

The advertising industry was born in Manhattan. The iconic show Mad Men depicts this period in American advertising quite accurately. In the show, the five families that own a stake in New York City are consistently at odds with each other over a variety of social issues, most notably the increasingly congested and dangerous Lower Manhattan Bridge.

With the opening of the World Trade Center, there was a boom in mid-sized businesses in downtown Manhattan, which in turn led to higher real estate costs. As the economic boom lasted throughout the 1960s, companies like K Mart and Xerox Corporation moved their operations to New York City in order to have easier access to the consumer. As per usual, New York City is perhaps best known as a center for advertising, but it was actually the industrial heart of America before the age of New York City was established. And the advertising industry in New York was one of the most important parts of the booming American economy.

As New York was a manufacturing hub for much of the century, the business that was created during the New York City boom tended to reflect the larger industrial revolution sweeping the country. Ads were a critical part of the marketing mix of American firms during the New York City Renaissance. As the population of New York City increased, so did the number of firms that required professional, if not extravagant, advertising campaigns. Advertisers literally turned the city into a free market for the largest advertising campaign in history.

But just because advertising was an important player in the New York City economic boom doesn’t mean that advertising is still a central component of New York City’s culture. The culture of New York has changed significantly in the last half decade. What was once an edgy, counterculture city has become a cosmopolitan one. And even though more people are able to afford airfare and a first class vacation, New York City remains, according to many, a city to be reckoned with. While New York may no longer be the advertising capital of the world, it is still, according to many, a true American city.

There are a few signs that the advertising climate of New York City is changing. In response to the less than festive atmosphere of the early 1960s ad agencies have begun to turn their attention toward commercialism. This new focus has led to a dramatic increase in advertising campaigns that appear less like advertisements and more like lifestyle articles. For example, one recent ad campaign showcased several couples walking down the street holding hands and commenting on the weather and each other. The ads themselves were a refreshing change from the usual plastic bottle and can tag we’ve seen during any given New York City travel guide.

But perhaps the biggest change to the advertising landscape of New York City comes from the major players within the industry. Magazine companies such as GQ and Town and Country magazines have undergone major changes in their advertising over the past twenty years. In recent years these magazines have begun to focus on entertainment as their main advertising focus. As previously mentioned, the more relaxed attitude toward lifestyle advertisements that were present in the 1960s are slowly being replaced by more contemporary business services and corporate communications. Some of the new types of advertisements that are appearing in New York magazine covers and in the business section of newspapers include eco-travel, interiors design and small boutique shops. These are just a few examples of the types of advertising that are being presented more in New York City.

Rebranding NYC

NYCxDESIGN, the non profit organization committed to empowering and promoting the city’s diverse creative community, will kick off its fall calendar of initiatives with the second edition of An Ode to NYC.

Bringing together New York’s most creative designers, local businesses & retailers, and iconic NYC spaces, the city-wide exhibition will return starting October 1 with a new series of original poster designs. Featuring works by Suchi Ready, Karim Rashid, Paula Scher, Liz Collins, Sloan Leo, Debbie Millman and more, the campaign aims to spark joy, hope, and conversation around thefuture of NYC. 

Posters will be sold through Poster House and will be displayed in design showrooms, retail stores, and cultural venues, and digitally projected in major NYC hubs, including Fulton Center, the Oculus at Westfield World Trade Center, and on-board the NYC Ferry fleet. All poster sale proceeds will support Silicon Harlem, an inspiring non profit organization that supports digital equity in underserved communities.

We’ve included a release here and below that outlines this year’s edition of An Ode to NYC and all of the participating partners from across the design sector. You can see a preview of the posters in our press kit and below.

We can’t wait to support this initiative and all of the wonderful NYC happenings during Archtober. Stay tuned for more NYCxDESIGN updates to come in the following weeks, and keep an eye out for all of the posters which will be revealed on October 1.

Cheers,
Chris + team The Future of New York is Made of Dreamers by Ignacio Serrano Perez of Milton Glaser Inc.Beautiful Future by Amaurys Grullon of Bronx Native

NY∞ by Rich Tu
On behalf of AIGA NY

A New City in the Sky by Elizabeth Von Lehe of HDR
On behalf of American Society of Interior DesignersNYCxDESIGN’S “AN ODE TO NYC” RETURNS WITH ANOTHER INSPIRING TRIBUTE TO NEW YORK IN CITY-WIDE EXHIBITION New York’s Leading Designers Contribute Original Artworks that
Envision a Better Future for the CityPoster Sale Proceeds to Benefit Silicon Harlem (September 23, 2021 – New York City, NY) NYCxDESIGN is pleased to announce that the second city-wide exhibition, An Ode to NYC, will return this October to reconnect people to the heartbeat of NYC’s design scene. In light of the last twelve months and the ongoing impact of the pandemic on the city’s streets, people, and culture, this year’s theme of “Our Future City” will reflect new beginnings. NYCxDESIGN has tapped into the expansive design ecosystem of the city, partnering with a host of showrooms, cultural institutions, and cutting-edge design businesses to showcase the original works, as well as appointing a new crop of talented designers who were tasked with painting a vision of tomorrow with one-of-a-kind poster designs. Thanks to this spirit of collaboration and participation across the design sector, An Ode to NYC will reach countless New Yorkers this fall, channeling the city’s unique capacity to support our community through design.

The 2021 collection of posters will be distributed city-wide to window front locations. They will also be showcased digitally on the expansive screens installed at The Oculus at Westfield World Trade Center, Fulton Center, and on-board the NYC Ferry’s fleet. The public can discover all of the works through a digital map hosted on nycxdesign.org that highlights over 75 locations across the five boroughs. All of the posters will be available for sale on Poster House’s website which is also accessible via QR codes at each of the exhibit locations. This year is particularly poignant, as proceeds from the poster sales will benefit Silicon Harlem, a nonprofit that works towards digital equity in the city, to redress the many communities that had no internet access during the pandemic, affecting their access to healthcare and education.

The second edition of the poster campaign will feature creations from 16 designers that represent New York’s vibrant and diverse design landscape, such as Debbie Millman of SVA, Paula Scher of Pentagram, Suchi Reddy of Reddymade, Amaurys Grullon of Bronx Native, Karim Rashid, Ghetto Gastro with New Studio, Sloan Leo of FLOX Studio Inc., Ifeoma Ebo of Creative Urban Alchemy and BlackSpace Urbanist Collective, Julian Alexander of Slang Inc., Ignacio Serrano Perez of Milton Glaser, Elizabeth Von Lehe of HDR, Toni L. Griffin of Urban American City with Siena Scarff, Liz Collins, Rich Tu, as well as firms Triboro Design, and Practice for Architecture & Urbanism. The breadth of artists and designers offering their vision and talent to this program, as well as the support across the breadth of the design sector, reveal the incredible power of NYC’s design community to come together and lead the city into a brighter future.

Valerie Hoffman, Program Director, NYCxDESIGN, remarks, “New York City is home to many of the world’s most talented and beloved designers, including those who came together during the first iteration of An Ode to NYC to inspire civic pride when it was needed most. This year our designers have created original art that demonstrates the need for unity as we imagine a better future for NYC. We couldn’t be more grateful for their immense creativity, and we are thrilled for New Yorkers to experience this moment with us again.”

Executive Director of NYCxDESIGN, Elissa Black, adds, “We are delighted to partner with Silicon Harlem, an incredible organization that works tirelessly to create equitable digital infrastructure for our city, and to support underserved communities most heavily affected by the pandemic. We could not have achieved this without the support shown by our local design community, including several beloved showrooms, small businesses, and retailers. As such an important thread in New York’s cultural DNA and overall economy, the design industry once again underscores the power of art as a vehicle for change during this period of recovery.”

An Ode to NYC is generously supported by the A&D Building, Artistic Tile, Caesarstone, Cosentino, Design Within Reach, Eventscape, Fabricut, Herman Miller, Kohler, Pindler, Room & Board, Sherle Wagner, The New York Design Center at 200 Lex, The Shade Store, and Tile Bar. Each of these partners will showcase posters in their showrooms or retail locations.

Posters will also be on display across a range of small businesses in each of the five boroughs including Astoria Bookshop, atmos USA, Awesome Brooklyn, BrickHouse Ceramic Art Center, Bronx Brewery, Bronx Native, Brooklyn Blooms, Brooklyn Tea, Canal Street Market, Collier West, Collyer’s Mansion, Clay and Kiln Studio, Da Spot, Heath Gallery, Historic Richmond Town, Housing Works Thrift Shop, Housing Works Bookstore, IC Store by WantedDesign, Juniper, Lockwood, M Collection, Magpie, Mama Foundation for the Arts, Michele Varian, MOJO Mousse Bar, Mud Australia, Onderdonk House, The Primary Essentials, VAN DER MOST MODERN, Adoro Lei, Harlem Haberdashery, Harlem Shake, La Bonne Soupe, MakerSpace, Queens Bully, Settepani, Snug Harbor Cultural Center & Botanical Garden, Studio Zung, Sushi Sen-nin, The Potter’s Wheel, The Boogie Down Grind, UrbanGlass, Bronx River Art Center, Textile Arts Center, and Brooklyn Circus.

A map that will indicate all of the 75+ citywide poster locations will be available at www.NYCxDESIGN.org.