‘So rude’: Twitter sounds off on NYC ad bashing Boston
"You'll always smell like piss, NYC."
Boston 🚫 ❤️ NYC.
The Hub’s longstanding rivalry with the metropolis to the south got its latest dose of bitterness this week as an advertisement for the city that never sleeps’ new “We❤️ NYC” promotional campaign took what appears to be an uncalled-for swipe at Boston.
“We get more done by 8 a.m. than Boston does in a day,” reads the advertisement, seen in a photo posted on Twitter by user Debbie Saslaw on Sunday.
The street display is apparently part of the city’s marketing campaign, unveiled last week. Playing off the classic “I ❤ NY” logo from the 1970s, the new image, officials say, is intended to bring New Yorkers together, above everyday divisions.
Naturally, the ad is bringing together Bostonians, too.
“Zing us more,” one user, @NickGianetti, wrote on Twitter. “Bring back the rivalry. Lets get 🌶️🔥”
@mikehenry fired off: “You’ll always smell like piss, NYC.”
“sick burn @nycgov,” wrote Jeremy Siegel, co-host of “Morning Edition” on GBH News.
“Everything about this recent campaign (incl. messing with the classic Milton Glaser ‘I [heart] NY’ brand) is a train wreck, and now NYC is taking potshots that are 20 years out of date?” wrote @annesaurus. “I mean, sure, hate Boston, but it hasn’t been a ‘rivalry’ for years.”
A fair number of critics also zeroed in on the city’s political differences, namely, their mayors, Eric Adams, of New York, and Michelle Wu, of Boston.
“Michelle Wu > Eric Adams and it’s not even close, sorry,” tweeted @david_fadul.
“So rude,” @chipgoines wrote. “I can’t wait to donate against whoever runs against Eric Adams in the next nyc mayoral election.”
@bellanati0n wrote: “listen i know boston shuts down at 8pm while nyc never sleeps, but at least boston has a competent mayor who actually cares about her constituents 😬 nyc cant say the same”
For what it’s worth, the campaign is not the most popular among New Yorkers either.
Critics sounded off all through last week over the new logo’s design, with one Twitter user lamenting the new logo is even an “affront to this great city.”
“I hate it,” said Benjamin Liong Setiawan, a lifestyle writer who has lived in New York for over two decades told the Washington Post. “If they want to do something, they should have gone in a completely different direction versus trying to update a classic.”
Some New Yorkers even admitted the attack on Boston was in bad taste, if not confusing.
“born and raised in Manhattan and I [expletive] hate this campaign,” @TwittsMcGee tweeted regarding the advertisement in question.
“The thing about the Boston/NYC rivalry is that New Yorkers don’t really think about Boston enough to engage with it,” wrote @akdetrick. “This makes me suspect the agency for this project is based in Boston. Only Bostonians think Boston is this important.”