Coronavirus News: Gov. Cuomo announces 2 winners in face mask PSA contest

NEW YORK (WABC) -- New York has announced a pair of winners in a contest to launch a public service commercial to encourage the wearing of face masks during the coronavirus pandemic.

The two winning videos, "We Heart New York" by Bunny Lake Films and "You Can Still Smile" by Natalia Bougadellis and Emory Parker will run as PSAs.

"We first wrote the script together and then we started shooting day by day and gathering portraits and seeing what we needed to still capture the energy of New York," Bunny Lake Films' Aliya Naumoss said.

"We all need to wear a mask and just to be able to give this message in 30 seconds was a challenging thing to do," Bunny Lake Films' Celine Danhier said.

Governor Andrew Cuomo revealed the winners Tuesday, with 600 videos submitted and 186,000 votes cast.

"We launched the 'Wear A Mask New York' contest to help spread the word about the importance of wearing a mask, and frankly this contest generated much more energy and excitement than I even anticipated," Cuomo said. "The tremendous level of participation demonstrates that people understand that a mask can be the difference between life and death. This is about their lives and this is about their community, and they're engaged -- because they are New York tough, smart, united, disciplined and loving."

The contest, which was launched by the governor on May 5th and overseen by his daughter Mariah Kennedy Cuomo, asked New Yorkers to create and share a video explaining why New Yorkers should wear a mask in public.

"We asked New Yorkers to create ads about the importance of wearing a mask in public, and we received over 600 video submissions from across the state," Mariah Kennedy Cuomo said. "Congratulations to our winners, and thank you to everyone who submitted ads, who voted, who shared ads, and helped spread this important message that it's absolutely critical to wear a mask in public. And we'll be continuing to reach out to New Yorkers for help in spreading the message about how we can get through this together because New Yorkers are clearly ready, willing and able to help."

Winning videos:

We Love NY - Bunny Lake Films