Category: tourism

only in the philippines!

95 million copywriters
Greg B. Macabenta

I used to complain about 60 million copywriters. That was the population of the Philippines decades ago, when I was working with an ad agency in Manila and was handling the Nestlé account. It was my way of protesting the way every Juan, Pedro, and Maria felt competent to criticize and suggest improvements on the advertising campaigns we created. Invariably, 10 different people had 10 different ideas on how to improve our work.

Poor Secretary Bertie Lim and Campaigns & Grey. Now, they’re hearing from 95 million copywriters.

…  I had written a piece entitled, “Proud to be Pinoy,” referring to the fact that Manny Pacquiao and FilAms like California Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye and Giants ace pitcher Tim Limcecum have given us reason to hold our heads high in the world.But I also added that there are many other reasons to feel proud of ourselves as a a people:

“And yet, we have many reasons to feel Proud to be Pinoy, and not just vicariously. Not the least, the beauty of our people and our land.

“I guess this is the rationale behind the new campaign of the Department of Tourism revolving around the theme, ‘Pilipinas Kay Ganda’ or ‘Philippines, the Beautiful.’

“I think it’s a good advertising theme, reminiscent of America, the Beautiful.’ But to make this campaign fly, we need to work on our national psyche and imbue our people with genuine pride in ourselves as a nation.”

That really means creating a culture of tourism.

That, in turn, means improving our tourism infrastructure, ensuring peace and order and security, and investing in advertising and promotions to reach, create awareness and persuade tourists, sportsmen, adventurers, World War II veterans, retirees, businessmen, investors, conventioneers and assorted travelers, as well as overseas Filipinos, to visit our shores.

…  Heck! Why argue that “Pilipinas Kay Ganda” cannot be understood by non-Filipinos? It’s the easiest thing to add a parenthetical phrase that explains what it means. The more important point is whether or not we can support that statement.Was Senator Chiz Escudero right in commenting that there is no reason to change Dick Gordon’s “WOW Philippines” campaign?

Yeah sure. But if no advertising and promotions money is invested, it won’t work, either. And if the culture of tourism isn’t developed in our country and among our people, there will nothing to be “wowed” by.

…  The reason Las Vegas is such a major tourist draw is that the casinos are investing heavily in tourism promotions. The reason Hawaii is such an attractive tourist destination is that the travel and tourist industry in the islands are investing heavily in tourism promotions.But in the Philippines, the Department of Tourism is expected to do all of the investing, while the travel and tourism industry does the complaining and criticizing.

…  So what are they suggesting?Are they going to launch a contest on the best tourism slogan?

Will they create a committee of creative geniuses to concoct the right combination of words? Will Chiz Escudero and the Senate constitute a committee that will conduct an investigation into the reasons why our tourism industry has been left biting the dust behind Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, and the rest of Asia? Will Miriam Defensor-Santiago demand that Bertie Lim be replaced with “heavyweights”?

Or will someone sit down, do a reality check, calmly assess what resources are available and work on a viable plan that doesn’t depend on the syntax or symbolisms or visual appeal of an advertising slogan?

Several months ago (before P-Noy became president), I submitted a plan to Director Rene de los Santos of the Department of Tourism in San Francisco for a sustained media advertising campaign in the US, combining the limited budgets of the various stakeholders in the travel and tourism industry, as well as those government agencies desiring to reach out to the overseas markets.

My thesis is that, individually, none of them can afford to sustain a year-long effort — not even Philippine Airlines. But intermittent promotional blitzes and “marketing roadshows” are a waste of money. Without a follow-through, fat chance these efforts will sink in.

Breaking into a market is like pushing a boulder up a hill. If you don’t have enough muscle to push it all the way up to the top, as soon as you run out of steam, the boulder will roll right back to where you started.

So how to fund a year-long campaign? One way is to combine the limited resources of the stakeholders to make them add up to a substantial sum that can pay for such a campaign.

How does that work? Imagine a series of TV commercials and full-page or even double-spread full-color ads that talk about all of the wonderful things that all kinds of people can discover and relish in the Philippines.

Of course, that brings us back to making sure that all of those wonderfulthings are in place and worth offering to the world.

But, as far as I can tell, there are enough of them to get a viable campaign started. What I think needs to be done is for all of the interested parties to get together to agree on getting the infrastructure in shape for the follow-up campaign and for the long haul.

Pero, utang na loob, leave the copywriting to the copywriters.

tourism’s epic FAIL :(

heard about the new (now dropped?) tourism campaign through carlos celdran who was at the launch and was tweeting his dismay over the new slogan ‘pilipinas kay ganda’.   talaga naman.   in what world do these “creatives” live.

napaka-basic: ‘philippines’ for instant recognition, hindi yung mag-iisiip pa ang mga dayuhang turista, ano daw yon?   lalo pa ngayon na matunog na matunog ang ‘philippines’ salamat kay pacquiao, it’s crazy, it’s stupid, to even be thinking ‘pilipinas’.   until these “creatives” can come up with something better, let’s stay with ‘wow philippines’, whose logo can be tweaked, upgraded every which way.

i didn’t catch the website that was quickly brought down in the wake of boos and jeers from everywhere.   but the “new” logo is posted in several sites and, susmaryosep, it’s just a recycled version of the nineties logo.   i wrote scripts for the asean tourism forum festivities that dot philippines hosted back in ‘93 and yun na yon, without lang the tarsier and the smile.   pa-tropical effect for the slogan ‘island philippines’ na ewan kung bumenta.   all i remember is joy soler de castro on her soapbox vs. the traditional & “barriotic” and pitching the philippines’ east-west culture that’s unique in asia, which still sounds good.

but the logo, please, it’s so last century.   new millennium na, after all, and the world’s travellers would want a sense of more than beaches and coconut trees, certainly more than that displaced tarsier and corny smiley, ano ba.

“their neurons aren’t working,” kasasabi ni senator miriam sa dzmm teleradyo.

nakakatawa, pero nakakaiyak din.   puro sablay na lang.   hayyy.   we get what we deserve?   this is all we deserve?

read more:

resty odon’s Looking back: Gordon coined “WOW Philippines” on the spot on TV
PiNaysaAmerika’s Tourism Slogans
ellen tordesillas Not so beautiful ‘Pilipinas kay ganda’
gmanews.tv’s Critics: DOT’s ‘Pilipinas Kay Ganda’ not so pretty
noemi lardizabal-dado’s Country branding the Philippines
james cordova’s Sun or sex? Philippines’ botched tourism campaign

fil-am relations: harsh truths, reality check

at last, one who tells it like it is.   in The golden rule in foreign relations business world‘s greg b. macabenta doesn’t mince words re travel advisories, the vfa, philippine tourism, and our “special” relations with the u.s. of a.

What’s the bottom line here?

Will the US retract its advisory? Will tourist traffic be any worse than it now is? Will the VFA be negotiated with more equitable terms, like respecting Philippine jurisdiction over crimes committed by US military personnel?

The harsh truth? None of the above.

Between the noises made in media and the actual discussions backstage, there is always a world of difference. The protests are for the benefit of the masses. But what eventually carries the day is based on the Golden Rule.

He who has the gold, makes the rule. In this case, America. It has the gold. It makes the rules.

Be assured that the VFA will be discussed, but the terms will be no more equitable than the balance of power between the Philippines and America. US interests will come first, and the Philippines will agree.

With a war on its hands in the Middle East, an economic and military juggernaut looming from China, sabre rattling in North Korea, and terrorist threats everywhere it turns, America has to be assured that it is in a position to protect its interests.

No matter what the treaties say, America’s interests come first and foremost. Anything that gets in the way of these interests is either shot down, bought out or given an offer that can’t be refused.

That’s how the VFA “renegotiation” will eventually turn out.

Of course, loud noises will be made by the publicity hounds, but P-Noy and the foreign office will find a way to justify the agreement with appropriate euphemisms about the interests of the Philippines being upheld.

Meanwhile, the travel advisory will not be recalled. There will simply be no follow-up advisory — at least, until there is another need to crack the whip on naughty, uncooperative Philippines.

But, will there be a negative effect on Philippine tourism? I doubt it. In the first place, few people in the Western world think about the Philippines as a tourist destination. There are no promotional activities, no efforts to generate awareness, no campaigns to persuade.

When the US State Department issues a travel advisory on the Philippines, that hardly creates a ripple in US media. Americans don’t hear about it. If they’ve heard about the Philippines, it’s most likely the fact that it is the country of this super boxer named Manny Pacquiao.

Will the travel advisory affect US Pinoys and discourage us from visiting the homeland? Not at all. What else is new, anyway?

In other words, the travel advisory is just a feeble bark with no bite.

But the president of the Philippines would be remiss if he did not protest. So, he dutifully protests.

If there’s anything worth discussing about this continuing drama on US-Philippine relations, it is the fact that this needs a reality check.

Do we really believe that America will protect Philippine interests over its own interests?

Do we really believe that America will give foreign aid without demanding something in return?

Do we really think that cuddling up to China will worry America enough to make it want to give us special concessions?

Do we really think that the US will easily give up its strategic position in our part of the world in the face of international threats, both economic and military?

Do we really think China will treat us better than the US?

Do we really think that the Philippines, at this point in its national life, is in a position to chart its own independent course, whether its Western patrons like it or not?

Do we really believe that our ASEAN allies will come to our aid if either China or America decides to bully us?

Finally, do we, the Filipino people, really think that the Department of Foreign Affairs and President Benigno Aquino III know how to deal with the harsh realities of the Golden Rule?

We all know the answer to that.

Reminds me of what the late former Secretary of Foreign Affairs Raul Manglapus was supposed to have suggested about what to do in case of rape.

“Lie back and enjoy it.”