DOT’s Love the Philippines: A love turned briefly sour

MANILA, Philippines — It was a love that turned sour – but briefly – after controversy hit the new tourism campaign “Love the Philippines.”

With President Marcos in attendance, the Department of Tourism (DOT) in late June launched the new campaign and slogan in elaborate fashion as part of the agency’s 50th anniversary.

The “Love the Philippines” slogan used the “Barabara” font carried over from the “It’s more fun in the Philippines” campaign and also featured colorful pixelated versions of the country’s tourist attractions, food and festivals.

Advertising firm Doyle, Dane and Bernbach Philippines (DDB), which conceptualized the DOT’s tourism rebranding program, showed a two-minute video during the launch, which the DOT found out later used stock footage shot in other countries such as Indonesia and Brazil.

While the agency said it was sorry for what it called a “highly inappropriate action,” it maintained the video was made as a “mood video to excite internal stakeholders about the campaign.”

Despite the explanation, the DOT cancelled the contract with DDB. The former also maintained that “not a single peso” of public funds was spent, although Tourism Secretary Christina Garcia-Frasco said the agency spent P49 million to come up with the new campaign.

Government officials blasted the efforts to change the campaign, pointing out “It’s more fun in the Philippines” still works.

Later on, the tourism chief was criticized for taking a leave from work to spend time with her family overseas while the campaign controversy was still fresh in the public’s mind.

Frasco and the DOT remained unfazed, with the “Love the Philippines” elements, such as the slogan and images, still appearing in the agency’s materials and events.

For instance, the slogan is prominent in the hop-on hop-off buses which the agency launched to bring tourists to attractions in Metro Manila. Also, Frasco continued mentioning the slogan in her speeches.

Marcos declared his trust remains in her despite the blunder in the new campaign.

On the sidelines of the DOT’s presentation of its achievements for 2023, Frasco was asked by reporters if the “Love the Philippines” campaign is here to stay.

“Yes, it is here to stay. And the world continues to love the Philippines as indicated by the accolades, the international arrivals and love and support that continues to pour in from our friends around the world. As well as our fellow Filipinos who love the Philippines,” said a confident Frasco.

Challenges

Despite its successful new campaign, the DOT said the Philippine tourism industry still faces challenges that the government pledged to address.

Asked what these challenges were, Frasco said, “Number one, infrastructure, number two connectivity.”

“The Philippines continues to face two major challenges, especially in comparison with its ASEAN neighbors,” she said in an interview.

The DOT would continue its partnerships with the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) and the Department of Transportation (DOTr) to come up with programs and projects that would improve the country’s infrastructure, such as roads and gateways leading to tourist destinations, Frasco said.

“We are pushing through our convergence with the DPWH to continue to improve tourism infrastructure, as well as to push for our convergence with the DOTr as far as the direction of our President to privatize our airports and to expand the quality, improve the quality of our airports all over the country,” she said.

The DOT also saw the need to invest more in marine transportation, which promotes tourist “connectivity by way of sea,” as well as the need to add more hotel rooms, Frasco also said.

She added the DOT would continue lobbying for more direct flights to the country from other tourist spots overseas like the US, South Korea, Italy, UK, France and Qatar.