The winners of Mariah Cuomo's Wear a Mask New York Ad contest have been announced! Two lucky winners -- not just one -- will have their PSAs broadcast on TV, the governor's daughter revealed on May 26.
New Yorkers have spoken! After nearly 200,000 residents cast their votes, Bunny Lake Films was crowned the winner of the state’s Wear A Mask ad contest. The group created a 30 second video touting the importance of wearing a protective face mask in public, and the inspirational clip will be aired on national television as a public service announcement. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, and his daughter, Mariah Kennedy Cuomo, 25, announced the exciting news during his May 26 coronavirus press briefing, and added a surprise: the second place winners’ ad will also be aired.
You can watch Bunny Lake Films, a female-founded production company, joined forces with directors Celine Danhier and Aliya Naumoff to make the first place entry, “I Love NY” — which you can watch below. You can also check out the runner-up, “You Can Still Smile” from New Yorkers Natalia Bougadellis and Emory Parker. The Cuomos revealed that they received 600 submissions, and there were only 502 votes deciding between the two films. The Cuomos announced the contest during the governor’s May 5 coronavirus briefing.
Led by Mariah in partnership with the New York State Health Department, the goal was to create a spot urging New Yorkers to put on their face masks, as so many still refuse to do. In New York state, 360,000 people have tested positive for COVID-19 as of May 26; nearly 200,000 are just in the five boroughs of New York City.
And congrats to Natalia Bougadellis and Emory Parker, the creators of the runner-up video. They finished in 2nd place by only about 500 votes (out of nearly 200K votes cast). Well done.
— Andrew Cuomo (@NYGovCuomo) May 26, 2020
In the state, 23,282 people have died with COVID-19. Despite social distancing and a significant number of people choosing to wear protective gear, it’s not enough. Hopefully, seeing the beautiful PSAs by these two winners will inspire more to do their part in protecting their fellow New Yorkers.
