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Signs around town will highlight the city’s and Bay Area’s rich cultural history and cutting-edge tech industry, juxtaposing Levi’s jeans, artificial intelligence, the Summer of Love and self-driving cars, among others. Residents can get their own signs to take home and hang from windows, reminiscent of the “we’re all in this together” placards seen in the early days of the pandemic.

The campaign, whose elements are reminiscent of the famed “I ♥ NY” campaign in New York, is the brainchild of Chris Larsen, the billionaire chairman of cryptocurrency company Ripple, and Bob Fisher, a Gap board member and son of co-founders Donald and Doris Fisher. Both are San Francisco natives and are providing funding for the effort, along with other people.

Larsen said it is time locals fought back against inaccurate portrayals of how extensive the city’s woes are and critics “using San Francisco as the boogeyman … for how our way of life will ruin the world,” including Republican attacks on liberal and Democrat-backed policies.

He equated the city to a “great company” with major challenges that will take time to make progress on.

“You can’t let the brand get destroyed while you work on it,” Larsen said.

Nonprofit business-backed group Advance SF, formerly the Committee on Jobs, is organizing the effort, with support from titans such as Apple, Cisco, Google, Tesla and Salesforce.

Sports icons including Steph Curry, Willie Mays and Jerry Rice, plus the 49ers and Giants, have joined the effort, along with the estates of Maya Angelou, Harvey Milk, Janis Joplin, Jerry Garcia and Steve McQueen.

Larsen and Fisher both noted that much of the city, particularly outside of the Tenderloin and Civic Center, is vibrant and energetic, and residential areas are thriving even if workers aren’t fully back downtown.

“This is a place that’s constantly reinventing itself. And when you do that, there’s some turmoil,” Fisher said.

He recalled visiting New York this year. “People kind of leaned over and said, ‘What’s it like to live there? ’ And I said, ‘Well, frankly, it’s the greatest city in the world. We have our problems, and so do you.’ ”

“People that live here — we’re the greatest salespeople for the city and we need to keep attracting new ideas, new voices,” Fisher said. “I hope this campaign inspires creative people from all over the world to want to live in San Francisco.”

The civic pride campaign hired public relations giant Edelman and political consultancy Ground Floor Public Affairs for media outreach. Advertising firm Goodby, Silverstein & Partners developed the creative elements.

The campaign comes at a challenging time as the city faces a major budget deficit next year and a tarnished reputation.

In March, the Chronicle reported on the city’s risk for a potential doom loop as a result of remote work and a real estate crash leading to lower tax revenue, which in turn could lead to diminished city services and population outmigration.

Some media outlets then used the doom loop narrative to encompass the city’s long-standing homelessness and drug use problems, as well as property crime, and falsely implied that the city is already in a doom loop, despite no economists endorsing that idea. The phrase has since spread virally.

“It was definitely weaponized,” said Fisher, who instead anticipates a “boom loop” as the economy continues to grow.

A spate of high-profile crime incidents this year including the fatal stabbing of Square Cash creator Bob Lee and the closures of Nordstrom, Whole Foods and other retailers has also hurt the city and people’s perception of it.

But with the crucial Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit set to bring world leaders, including President Joe Biden, to the city in a few weeks, the “It All Starts Here” organizers hope the city’s reputation is on the upswing.

“We’re not trying to just do a PR campaign,” Larsen said. “We’re trying to acknowledge we have problems.”

The campaign is intentionally apolitical, though Larsen has been an active donor in recent ballot fights. He gave six figures to support former District Attorney Chesa Boudin in his recall fight, which Boudin lost last year.

Larsen said he is “100%” supportive of Mayor London Breed’s re-election. He also bashed “unelected, performance-motivated police commissioners” and said he is in favor of Breed’s 2024 ballot measure that would increase police power.

Fisher declined to comment in detail on his political views but said public officials should be held accountable for problems such as homelessness, drugs and public safety.

Larsen also hopes residents are encouraged to support local businesses as part of helping to revive the city. In another philanthropic effort, Larsen funded a nonprofit called Avenue Greenlight with $3.7 million in grants to boost residential shopping districts with events and public art.

Monetta White, CEO of the Museum of the African Diaspora in the South of Market neighborhood, is one of the campaign’s partners and is hopeful it will change the city’s mindset.

“I care deeply about our city,” she said. “It’s important for our community to have a sense of civic pride.”

White, a third-generation native, said friends who have visited recently from out of town have been impressed by the city’s vibrancy, which is a sharp contrast to much of the negative news coverage.

“For better or worse, we’re under the microscope,” Larsen said. “San Francisco represents more than just the city.”

He’s also optimistic about the city’s future and, given its relatively small size, expects the next year to be positive.

“Things change quickly,” Larsen said. “You could just be roaring again.”

Reach Roland Li: [email protected]; Twitter: @rolandlisf