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"I Love New York" logo, by Milton Glaser.

The logo for the I Love New York advertising many campaigns is a rebus created by Milton Glaser consisting of the capital letter I, followed by a red heart symbol (♥), below which are the capital letters N and Y, set in a rounded slab serif typeface. The logo and advertising campaign have been used for decades to promote tourism in New York State — not just New York City, as many believe. The trademarked logo appears in souvenir shops and brochures throughout the state, some licensed, many not.

In 1977, William S. Doyle, Deputy Commissioner of the New York State Department of Commerce hired advertising agency Wells Rich Greene to develop a marketing campaign for New York State. Doyle also recruited Milton Glaser, a productive graphic designer to work on the campaign, and he created the design based on Wells Rich Greene's advertising campaign. Glaser expected the campaign to last only a couple months and did the work pro bono. However, the innovative pop-style icon became a major success and has continued to be sold for years. In the popular mind (though this was not the original intention) the logo has become closely associated with New York City, and the placement of the logo on plain white T-shirts readily sold in the city has widely circulated the appearance of the image, making it a commonly recognized symbol.

The image became especially prominent following the September 11 terrorist attacks on the city, which created a sense of unity among the populace. Many visitors to the city following the attacks purchased and wore the shirts bearing the I Love New York logo as a sign of their support. Glaser created a modified version to commemorate the attacks, reading "I ♥ NY MORE THAN EVER", with a little black spot on the heart symbolizing the World Trade Center site. The black spot approximates the site's location on Manhattan Island.

Actor Robin Williams wearing an I Love New York T-shirt in Arabic.

The logo has become a part of the American pop cultural canon, since inspiring countless knock-offs (t-shirts, bumper stickers, etc.) of the "I ..." form. New York, in turn, has tried to uphold its trademark by filing a total of nearly 3,000 trademark objections against imitators^{[citation needed]}. Parodies of this phenomenon, such as “I ♠ My Pets" or "I ♣ My Wife" have also appeared. A recently popular parody is a shirt reading I {have never been to} [in the shape of a heart] New York.^[1] Another interesting variation is the recent "I (shamrock) NY", t-shirt reflecting the city's sizeable Irish-American presence. The expression "I heart ...", based on a literal reading of the logo, has become a somewhat facetious way to express one's affection for something (e.g. the film I ♥ Huckabees).

Before 1977, "Fun City" was the official nickname promoted by the city.

"I Love New York," written and composed by Steve Karmen, is also the New York State song.

There were also several disco versions by disco groups. One was by the group, Metropolitan, on Salsoul Records. There were also several other versions.

Madonna also performed a track entitled "I Love New York" on her 2005 album, Confessions on a Dance Floor.

LCD Soundsystem recorded the track 'New York I Love You"

1. ^ Byrne, Robert (1988). 1,911 Best Things Anybody Ever Said. New York, NY: Ballantine Books. ISBN 0-449-90285-4. 

• The History of New York's Marketing Campaigns, from the Gotham Gazette
• The Official New York State Tourism Website
• Trademark Protection Battle for "I ♥ NY", BusinessWeek
• Interview with Milton Glaser, The Believer

• Tourism in New York City
• Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan - horror film criticized for using the "I Love New York" music.
• I Love New York (TV series) - reality show competition featured on VH1