Petition to retain “More Fun in the Philippines” tourism slogan launched in the light of the DOT’s initial announcement that it will be revised.
The petition states (in verbatim): There is no harm in changing, however, this campaign has reqche (sic) far-flung countries and states in the world for its catchy and head-turning properties. Tourism should be apolitical, as the saying goes, if it is working best then there is no need to change. Change only applies if there is something wrong or if there is something not working well. This campaign has a great recall over the years. It depicts of what truly is the Filipinos greatest trait, being “happy people”, “fun people” despite the challenges and (sic) we face everyday, we still manage to have fun, that’s why it is indeed “MORE FUN IN THE PHILIPPINES”!
Bixie Reyes,presently Head of Design of Havas Ortega, who was part of the BBDO Guerrero team who worked on the campaign with the guidance of their Chairman David Guerrero (the man behind the slogan) garnered lots of reactions from advertising colleagues when he posted his personal reaction to the news. He, however, does not know who started the petition.
The petition was launched soon after the Department of Tourism (DOT) Secretary Wanda Corazon Teo, announced their intention to replace or revise the slogan. At about the same time, the DOT announced the appointment of McCann Worldgroup as the advertising and marketing firm who will be responsible for the conceptualization and implementation of the new campaign, which is scheduled to be launched next year. McCann Worldgroup will be working with a Php650M budget, which has already been approved by the previous administration. This budget will include global media placements for the campaign. adobo got in touch with Niña Terol, AVP/Director for Corporate Affairs of McCann Worldgroup Philippines to ask about their reaction to the petition and the statement of the DOT, “We are now working with the DOT to finalize our list of deliverables and timelines. We know they have been studying the matter and are considering various data points in order to make the best decision moving forward.” We likewise got in touch with BBDO Chairman David Guerrero who replied that they can’t make any comment on the situation.
Reason for proposed revision
The DOT stated that the reason for the change was because the catchy slogan “did not generate tourist arrivals” and they just “want to answer the question: Why is it more fun in the Philippines?” Today, however, online reports state that when Tourism Secretary Wanda Teo was in Madrid, Spain, a UN World Tourism Organization (WTO) official commented that the slogan “was good enough and just needed an upscale” or a little more focus. Both statements imply that the DOT is leaning towards some form of revision to the popular slogan. To explain the reason for earlier announcement about the plan to revise the slogan, Teo cited a Nielsen study conducted from March-April 2016,which showed that in Europe, nearly two out of three respondents like the slogan but only one in four said they would travel to the Philippines. The study also showed that in North America, three out of four respondents liked the catchy slogan but less than two were enticed to visit the country.
Local and global recognition for the campaign
The slogan was a clear winner when it launched in 2012 under then Tourism Secretary Ramon Jimenez, Jr. It caught on quite easily and engaged Filipinos to use the power of social media to contribute their own words and images to the campaign. It was also bestowed honors like the Carmencita Esteban Platinum award, the highest distinction of the Tambuli Awards, for the most effective and value-driven campaign in 2012. In 2014, it landed third among the world’s best marketing campaigns according to the Warc 100, an annual ranking of the world’s best campaigns and companies based on performance in effectiveness and strategy competitions.
A quick check in the DOT website showed a summary of international arrivals and total earnings gained from 2012, which was the year the campaign was launched, up to August, 2016. From the data, it does look like there has been a steady rise in terms of the number of arrivals and earnings gained from tourism arrivals.
http://www.tourism.gov.ph/Pages/IndustryPerformance.aspx
Data available in the same website, however, also showed that the Philippines’ international tourist arrivals pale in comparison to our Southeast Asian neighbors but the UNWTO 2016 Tourism Highlights cites the Philippines for a double-digit growth in 2015:
South-East Asia’s top destination, Thailand (+20%) rebounded strongly in 2015, welcoming 5 million more international tourists. Myanmar (+52%) also saw a surge in arrivals last year, although from a lower base. Laos (+12%), the Philippines (+11%) and Indonesia (+10%) also enjoyed double-digit growth.
Beyond the slogan
It is wise to note, however, that the country’s tourism growth performance will have to be evaluated on the basis of so many other variables. In an interview with @inquirerdotnet, Samie Lim, head of the Tourism Committee of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry pointed out, “Although we have some of the best resorts in the world, there is the bad experience at the airport, the horrendous traffic, the questionable ratings of hotels, the low quality equipment at the tourist destinations. The infrastructure chain … has become inadequate for the six million international tourists and some fifty million domestic tourists.” For sure, recent events in the country have also not been encouraging or contributory to the rise of tourism.
Conflicting report
Curiously, however, rappler.com published a report dated June 17, 2016 (four months prior to the report which prompted the online petition) citing an interview with Kara David of GMA News TV’s News to Go with DOT Secretary Wanda Corazon Teo where the latter stated that in spite of the change of national leadership the slogan will be retained, “We will retain it because it has already attracted tourists to come to the Philippines.” She was also quoted as saying, “Hindi naman ganoon ka-abrupt ito because of a new administration, kailangan ko nang palitan. Hindi naman siguro. (It doesn’t have to be an abrupt change that just because of a new administration, I’ll have to change it. I don’t think so.) The slogan has enticed tourists to come to the Philippines, so I think, we’ll stick to it… and Visit Philippines 2017. Later siguro (maybe), we will change the Visit Philippines 2017, but yung It’s More Fun in the Philippines, that’s a good slogan. It will stay.”
Which is which?
There’s really no telling whether it’s still “More Fun in the Philippines” or if it will be revised to be “more focused”, “be upscale” or get into “why it’s more fun in the Philippines”. The industry waits for the final verdict while it contemplates if it still truly is more fun in the Philippines.
