January 13, 2016
Everyone loves emojis and, these days, every brand wants to have their own. That's why Visit Philadelphia, the city's official site for visitors, released a set of 'em just for Philly.
Via the Philadelphia Keyboard app, downloadable for free in the Apple Store and the Google Play Store, locals and visitors alike can express their feelings for the city via little pictures instead of words. (Find download instructions here.) As one might expect, soft pretzels, Philadelphia Museum of Art and Rocky are all represented. In lieu of smiley faces, a cartoon Liberty Bell makes happy expressions. (In fact, every emoji in the set is very positive -- go figure.)
The catch? They don't work on Twitter or Instagram because they're not actually, technically emojis. They're little pictures. Rather than just typing them into a text or a tweet, you copy and paste it from your phone keyboard. They also appear much larger than your usual emoji.
It's a cute idea, at least.
Below, some of our favorites: "jawn" shaped like the famous "100," the ubiquitous cheesesteak, "Con Carino, Philadelphia," a winky Liberty Bell and ... a beer emoji that looks exactly like the regular beer emoji.