It’s more fun in the Philippines - New tourism slogan

So, I can admit that when I first heard about the focus of the campaign, I was not enthused. And earlier today when it first launched, was still not enthused.

But, after seeing the site I am more enthusiastic about the campaign. It has potential, and I can see how they are using the idea of ‘fun’ to sell the unique features of the Philippines. Click through to visit the site. 

Right now, ripping on the DOT for putting up shitty campaigns is akin to making fun of fools. Yeah it’s all fun and games, but they can’t help how they are, so you just end up feeling dirty afterwards.

And yes, this is a roundabout way of saying the DOT is pretty much retarded.

Here is a brilliant idea (one I know many have been lobbying for since that first abortion of an international campaign): Why not open the logo/branding campaign to an international and domestic competition? Allow our talent the opportunity to rebrand our country.

Failing that, open up bidding to advertising firms based in the Philippines. This is something every organization goes through prior in mounting a major campaign: they craft the parameters of the campaign (goals, ‘sensibility’ etc) and send out the bid documents to advertising companies and wait to see what they produce. Then, they select the best one. Now, was that so hard?

The Aquino admin keeps mouthing off about public-private-partnerships but it’s becoming pretty damn obvious it’s about working only with a select few. There is absolutely little doubt that what is produced through a competition or bidding process will be far and away better than what the DOT has produced so far. I know for a fact that the idea for this type of a program was presented and many of our brightest culture minds attempted through seminars to help ground the DOT in the uniqueness of the country. That they failed to grasp anything from those sessions is indicative of what is going on.

It’s like they have no idea what they are doing sometimes. 

This is our country, as they keep saying. Allow local talent the opportunity to have inputs in the logos used to brand our country. Leverage the creativity in this country. Make this effort truly Filipino.

The end result will be far superior and more organic than anything that has come before.