PHILIPPINES, NOVEMBER 30, 2010 – In her Philippine Star opinion piece last Saturday “Pilipinas, kay pangit!” (Philippines, so ugly!), a play on the doomed tourism slogan, it was clear that Campaigns & Grey chair Yoly Ong could not take the reactions to the botched DOT campaign in silence any longer. "I would rather stake whatever reputation, credibility and success I may have, than shy away from laying bare the aggressive metastasis of a cancerous psyche afflicting some Filipinos," she wrote.
Although forces with malicious intentions were feasting on the issue, as Ong revealed, the opposition associated with former President Arroyo could stop using the campaign as an insult to President Aquino, as he has stepped in decisively and it is now apparent that the campaign was not his brainchild.
The tweets have been quick. "Sees Yoly Ong making patol… Ang pikon, talo. Sana you said nothing nalang," tweeted tour guide and culturati Carlos Celdran. "Sus si Yoly Ong napikon na! Inaway mga napangitan sa gawa nya!" tweeted director-actress Mae Paner a.k.a. Juana Change. From Smart Communications’ Jim Ayson: "rereading that yoly ong opinion piece again & wondering – hey does campaigns & grey have a digital team? do they understand the net at all".
Lessons from this latest installment of the two-week-long issue? One, the "Pilipinas Kay Ganda" campaign has proven itself indefensible. Two, to stop the fire, do not fan the flames. Three, there is a need for social media training, even for those still working on traditional platforms.
The internet gives everyone a voice, as prominent bloggers Carlo Ople and Noemi Dado explain. Many of those who expressed their opinions are unaware of the workings of the DOT and the politics behind the campaign, only wanting transparency and accountability–in other words, good governance. By tweeting and reposting, the majority of online commenters had neither a personal nor a politically motivated attack in mind. Ong dropped a few blind items on “faded advertising luminaries", but this only feeds chatter in agency boardrooms, nothing more.
The column ends on a positive note, but that may not be enough, as it already marks a low point in Philippine advertising. Perhaps it would have been wiser to stop with Ong’s appearance on the cable news channel ANC on Friday night. The column the following day has since received more than 100 mainly negative comments. If there is a real demolition job here, one hopes that the final blow would not be from Ong’s own hand.
Related stories:
DOT Undersecretary Romano resigns after tourism campaign fiasco
Campaigns & Grey airs its side of the “Pilipinas Kay Ganda” story
DOT continues to feel the heat over tourism campaign, creative citizens take initiative
DOT’s new campaign slogan, logo emanate mixed signals
