'If You See Something, Say Something' Coiner, Fair Lawn Graduate Dies

FAIR LAWN, NJ — A Fair Lawn High School graduate who coined the slogan, "If You See Something, Say Something," died last week at age 77, his obituary published by The New York Times said.

Allen Kay, a New York native who graduated from Fair Lawn High School in 1963, conceived the slogan for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority of New York after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, The Times said.

Signs with the request were installed in subway stations in 2003, one week before U.S. forces invaded Iraq, The Times said.

“I’m proud of what it’s done and the potential it has to do more,” Mr. Kay told The Times in 2010. “Some things you just can’t stop. But if it is stoppable, and that thought makes someone think twice and say something that stops something, that’s its reason for being.”

The phrase has over the years "unquestionably saved lives," MTA's chief of external relations John McCarthy said after Kay's death, according to The Times.

Although Kay is most proud of his work brainstorming the slogan, his obit said, he is also known for creating a Super Bowl advertisement for Xerox that is considered of the most famous of all time. He also co-founded the advertising agency Korey Kay and Partners, producing ad campaigns for Virgin Atlantic, Comedy Central and others.

Kay was named by Advertising Age as one of 11 influential high-tech marketing professionals of the 20th Century, and he holds 22 Clio awards, each recognizing excellence in advertising, according to Wikipedia.

Having passed on Nov. 27 in Weehawken, Kay is survived by his wife Susan (Brody) Kay, and daughters Jill (Todd Greenberg) and Deana (Brian Bernstein), his obit said.