The Partnership for New York City, a non-profit organization representing the city’s civic, government, business and labor leaders, has produced two public service announcements – with the help of New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo – reminding people of the urgency to protect one another by taking the necessary steps to stop the spread of the coronavirus.
Stressing the gravity of the coronavirus pandemic and the need to utilize common sense to prevent its spread, one spot concludes with words from Gov. Cuomo reminding viewers that “in this crisis, we are all first responders,” while the second ends with the stark admonition: “your actions can either save or endanger a life.”
Produced by DeVito/Verdi, one of the New York’s top creative advertising agencies, the moving spots, entitled “Fight the Spread,” focus on the actions needed to keep one another healthy. In addition to calling out the steps needed to be taken to prevent the spread, one spot offers a reassuring message that sanity is, in fact, spreading during this pandemic as we are all taking this seriously and taking steps to fight the spread.
The second spot reminds viewers of the sacrifices we all must make to ensure that those who have sacrificed the most for our country, the elderly, can survive.
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“We couldn’t think of a more important role to take then imploring everyone to do everything they can to keep our friends, neighbors and family safe,” said Ellis Verdi, president of DeVito/Verdi. “Hopefully this will have some impact on stopping the spread of this pandemic.”
DeVito/Verdi has had a long history of creating memorable issue advertising and public service announcements. The agency spearheaded a number of powerful PSAs following 9/11 for the Campaign For Freedom that addressed the importance of protecting and cherishing the freedoms protected under the Constitution.
“Governor Cuomo has been a consistent source of strong, fact-based messaging. These ads amplify his counsel to remain calm during this difficult time and reflect the Partnership’s confidence in his leadership,” stated Kathryn Wylde, President & CEO, Partnership for New York City
Here are the latest numbers from the day:
- Deaths in New York State: 4,758, up 599 from 4,159 on Sunday morning.
- Confirmed cases: 130,689, up from 122,031 in New York. In New York City, 72,181, up from 67,551.
- Hospitalized in New York State: 16,837, up 2 percent from 16,479 on Sunday. It was the third straight day of single-digit percentage growth, after a long period when hospitalizations were growing 20 to 30 percent a day.
- In intensive care: 4,504, up 2 percent from 4,376 on Sunday. The day-over-day increase, 128, was the smallest in at least two weeks. Last week, the number of people in intensive care beds, which have ventilators, was growing more than 300 people a day, driving projections that the state would soon run out of ventilators.
- SOURCED: New York Times
The commercials have begun airing on all local network affiliates, Hulu and a number of other media outlets, including TikTok, Empire Report, Charter, Altice USA, and via The Ad Council. Airtime is being donated by the participating media companies.
