As a last ditch effort to drum up support for the “Love the Philippines” campaign, the Department of Tourism (DOT) is finding it hard to sell its new campaign slogan. In Eastern Visayas, particularly, this drew negative reactions from stakeholders. To align with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s advocacy to promote Filipino brand, the DOT launched the new “Love the Philippines” slogan in June last year, replacing the 11 year-old “It’s more fun in the Philippines.” On its launch, a wave of criticisms flooded social media, specifically as the production cost itself for the promotion raised eyebrows.
Too Imposing
One year hence, did the new call sign gain acceptance?
"Bagat unnecessary man adto. " It's more fun in the Philippines'' because it is fun in the Philippines. An LOVE the Philippines bagat naging tacky ko lugod hya," Angel, a freelancer and travel enthusiast told Opinyon 8.
For Warays, the former slogan, introduced in 2012, captures the spirit of Filipinos.
For others, the new slogan is too imposing and straining.
" 'It's more fun in the Philippines, it's more fun in Region 8' is more appealing than 'Love the Philippines, Love region 8.' It just doesn't sound right," Jj, a student in Tacloban shared.
Consistency
On top of the "catchy-ness,”locals also noticed inconsistencies in the implementation of the new tourism campaign.
In the recent tourism regional stakeholder rollout for the "Love the Philippines" campaign in Tacloban City, questions about the branding's consistency emerged.
Several stakeholders have raised concerns regarding the law that supports its implementation, considering that it could be changed when a new administration takes over.
Shierylou Maramot, speaker for the “Love The Philippines” brand guidelines, expressed optimism in making the brand a success enough for the next administration to retain it.
“Mayda law stating na DOT should implement a comprehensive branding campaign but i don't think they should haphazardly change the campaign every time cause nacultivate naman ha public consciousness an previous campaign na its more fun in the ph so if icompare nimo ha current campaign bagat watered down na version la hiya,” an anonymous source said.
Matter of Branding
Republic Act 9593 or the Tourism Act of 2009, primarily focuses on the development and promotion of tourism in the country.
While it outlines various provisions related to tourism, it does not specifically address branding.
“Given this sudden change in branding, which is not a mere change of tagline, kasi concern din naman iyong national budget, right? It should be an eye-opener na magkaroon tayo ng guidelines or yes, batas regarding sa development programs para magkaroon ng consistency and sustainability iyong programs natin para hindi palit ng palit, at laan ng laan ng budget. Hindi dahil sa ayaw natin ng change, kailangan din ng change kung hindi na nagwowork ang current system or program, pero iyon nga, there should be guidelines as to kung ano lang iyong pwede palitan, and what grounds are considered justifiable,” Yssa stressed out.
In its promotion, a controversial and major issue encountered by the DOT was the use of stock videos and photos of other countries.
Because of this, the department terminated the contract with advertising firm DDB.
What A Waste!
Tourism Secretary Christina Garcia-Frasco disclosed that the agency had already spent about P49 million for the creation of this new campaign.
Considering the millions spent, several Taclobanons pointed out this was clearly a waste of the people’s money.
"Sugad ka dako gin sayang nira para rebranding hin butang nga di man kailangan hin rebranding. Kun ginamit nala it nira pag improve han campaign mas napulsan pa," a netizen voices his sentiments on a social media page.
Effective?
DOT has since continued to advocate for the use of the new slogan, defending that this had been assessed as “effective” based on their research and data gathering.
They guaranteed that the branding is “working effectively” as the DOT emphasized the need for citizens’ and stakeholders’ support and cooperation forthwith slogan’s success.
DOT encourages the citizenry to embrace the branding and incorporate "Love the Philippines" into their endeavors to broaden its reach and inspire more Filipinos to take pride in this branding.
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