'More fun' campaign goes global with ad on CNN

MANILA, Philippines - With Filipino-American pop star apl.d.ap belting out the background tune, images of several top Philippine tourist attractions entice travelers.

The “more fun” tourism campaign had its global launch with advertising spots appearing on Cable News Network (CNN) starting last Monday.

The Ifugao Rice Terraces, the Underground River in Palawan and the Chocolate Hills of Bohol shared pride of place with the endangered tarsier and fiestas.

It’s more fun in the Philippines, and the government refuses to dwell on the cost of selling this message to the world, saying the country needs to be innovative given its limited budget.            

The Aquino administration was reported to have spent about P63 million for its initial tourism advertising campaign on CNN.       

“I don’t know the exact amount, but I’ll tell you this: we are trying to attract tourists from around the world. Tourism is going to be a big part of our economic growth and our inclusiveness – of our equitable growth strategy,” Presidential Communications Development and Strategic Planning Office Secretary Ricky Carandang said.       

He said the Philippines remained at a disadvantage because other countries were allocating much funds for their advertising campaigns.          

“But we’re trying to find ways to maximize our less substantial resources. And I want to note that I have not heard – maybe we’re all biased because we’re all Filipinos – but I have not heard any negative comments about the ad. We have friends from around the region who think the ad is very catchy, who find the ad exciting,” Carandang said.            

“And the good thing is, what they are saying is you know, it’s very authentic because whatever you say about the Philippines, a lot of people overseas will agree that it’s really more fun here. So it’s a catchy ad and very effective. And I think, we’re getting more bang for our buck than our neighbors are,” he said.

The first ad, a 30-seconder, uses photos and ideas created by the public, which was invited by the Department of Tourism (DOT) to produce their own take on the “It’s more fun in the Philippines” slogan it launched in January. The ad is set to the popular dance vibe “Barbra Streisand” by Duck Sauce, a collaboration of DJs Armand van Helden and A-Trak, which riffs on another artist, Boney M’s “Gotta go home” song.

The ad also features apl.de.ap of the Black Eyed Peas, rapping “It’s more fun in the Philippines” within the tune.            

Apl.de.ap, or Allan Pineda Lindo Jr., hails from the Philippines, and has been creating songs for the Black Eyed Peas that incorporate Filipino lyrics.

A shorter version of the TV commercial, just 15 seconds, features a tarsier – known for its huge eyes – clinging to a branch and looking at the camera, with jungle sounds playing in the background.

The video ends with the caption: “Staring contests. More fun in the Philippines.”

Both TVCs have gone viral on the Internet and social networking sites, a tack adopted by the DOT to enable the citizens to “own” the campaign.       

The ads were produced by advertising giant BBDO Guerrero/Proximity Philippines, which bested seven other agencies last year in a bid to the P5.6-million brand awareness campaign for the Philippines.

Meanwhile, the DOT is also embarking on an underground campaign to introduce and promote the country’s destinations to the world.

Tourism Assistant Secretary Domingo Ramon Enerio said that after putting out the “It’s more fun in the Philippines” advertisement over CNN, the government is also mounting an “underground campaign” abroad. “Right now we are already starting underground advertising in the United Kingdom by putting our more fun slogan on double-decker buses and taxis. This would be part of our aggressive marketing campaign,” Enerio told The STAR. Enerio said the DOT is also putting out the more fun slogan in various international publications, starting off with Reader’s Digest.

Enerio said the DOT initially had no plans of placing an ad with a cable network until CNN decided to come out with the “Eye on the Philippines” series on its website.

“We thought of just coming out with an advertisement along with the Eye on the Philippine features,” Enerio noted.

He also stressed that DOT only spent a minimal amount of P19,000 per spot for the CNN ad.

Tourism Secretary Ramon Jimenez said the DOT placed the more fun advertisement over the cable network, but the Philippine government has no editorial role in the “Eye on the Philippines” features on its website. Enerio said the CNN campaign, which came out in time with the holding of the ADB conference in Manila, has created a great impact and would greatly help the Philippines lure at least 4.6 million foreign tourists this year.

“The CNN ad created a big impact so we came out with a similar campaign,” he said.

However, Enerio said since the DOT does not have the necessary budget to spend on advertising, it ruled out a grand launch of the new country brand and introduced it to the international market through the DOT’s participation in travel trades.

Enerio said the DOT is also working with various local government units (LGUs) and private tourism establishments to promote the country’s different destinations.

The national government has been very supportive of the DOT program, but Enerio said they are still seeking additional funding for tourism promotion.

“Under the law, DOT has a share from the earnings of the Duty Free Philippines, PAGCOR and several other government agencies and so we are now negotiating to get that share so we could have more funds for our campaign,” Enerio explained. 

The country hopes to attract 10 million visitors by 2016, when President Aquino steps down from office.

With close to 4 million tourist arrivals in 2011, the country still ranks way behind its neighbors – Malaysia with 25 million, Thailand 19 million, Singapore 13.2 million, Indonesia 7.6 million, and Vietnam 6 million. – With Mayen Jaymalin