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

Comments

  1. Pilipinas, kay ganda na ng “WOW Philippines.” Andiyan na ang tagline na award-winning pa. Please emphasize our “wealth of wonder” this time.

    ‘Wag sana ang DOT ang nagsasabi ng “wow.”
    Dapat ang turista ang kusang napapa-“wow.”

    Please, please, DOT, concentrate on this aspect and not on the radical makeover…haphazardly done naman!

  2. back in the early 90s the slogan was Island Philippines, or Islands Philippines (senior moment), and the logo was very much like the “new” one, except for the tarsier and smile and the i/dot-sun. baka poland ang nag-spin off from that one, haha, so DOT creatives must have thought it was good for another round? searched the internet and there’s none, i suppose tinanggal nila all traces of it.

  3. at least one coconut tree for sure ;) and it was more orange and green than red and blue-green, haha, can’t remember exactly na, but the moment i saw the “new” one, my reaction was, ay, pinaglaruan lang yung dati

  4. On PolsKAY GANDA…

    LOGO
    (pronounced lo-ko; noun: deception)

    Tweaks, here and there, may not really avoid copying the original concept:

    1. Travel logo – same
    2. Font – same
    3. “L” as a tree – same
    4. Festive arrangement of letters – same
    5. Waves of water – same presence, the copy just inverted the waves

    Copies tend to overdo the tweaking just to depart largely from the original. Thus, P.Noy’s tarsier, P.Noy’s smirk, P.Noy’s color (sun), P.Noy’s Laban sign in the “L” tree trunk with green-colored root, ground (P.Noy) where the tree (Rico Puno) is planted, and mix-match of colors (P.Noy, here and there).

    Without the two logos side by side, the copy may pass as an original. Well, was there an instance a plagiarist voluntarily or instantly cited his reference?

    C&G: Ano’ng ka-logo-han naman ‘yan?

  5. The Polska logo is actually quite profound. The Pilipinas Kay Ganda, even if original, is too obvious, and, really, quite heavy-handed. The Polish one is heart-breaking: a country whose recent history is very grim, trying to look gay and tourisable. The colors of the letters come from their own colors. I’m not an art expert but they take a lot from Joan Miro, who people insist is the father of surrealism. Polska logo is surreal in a tender way.

  6. Why not…

    Philippines [heart] People

    Ironic but I can imagine it being popular, it has legs (the alliterative quality and referencing “People Power” as well), and it will stand out.

    Baka nga lang mag-evolve into Philippines [hurt] People.

  7. [“To get the wow, one has to earn the wow. In that sense, the DOT has a lot more to do than merely change its slogan or, for that matter, offering up a new website.”]

    ‘Wag sana ang DOT ang nagsasabi ng “wow.”
    Dapat ang turista ang kusang napapa-”wow.”

    [“Generally speaking, the DOT needs to do a much better job with its maintenance of various crumbling tourist spots and protection of the country’s natural treasures. Maybe if the DOT were already doing those things well, people wouldn’t mind the bizarre new slogan, no matter how wayward it is.]

    http://opinion.inquirer.net/inquireropinion/editorial/view/20101121-304373/Wow

  8. I saw the website before it was taken down and I tell you, it wasn’t just the logo and slogan that was disastrous. It needs major proofreading, for one.

    examples:

    1. “Blessed with pine-covered mountains, a cool climate that averages a 19 degrees Celsius all year round…”

    2. “offers countless OF destinations to SEE”

    3. “feast your plate”

    I do not mean to be a grammarian but this a government website we’re talking about not a personal blog. Plus they need a better writer. It was a pain to read! It was as if the writer was thinking in Tagalog and writing in English, thus the meaning was lost in translation.

    4. I also found one photo with a caption “Shopp till you drop” I do not think that was intentional.

    5. If you follow the “party day and night” link, it takes you to Vigan. Pardon my ignorance but is that what Vigan is known for?

    6. I’m not sure if it’s just a personal opinion but I think “be ready to put on a few extra ponds” is not the most desirable way to market our unique cuisine and there is a better way of saying this “get the perfect tan that will be the envy of your friends back home”.

    Bottom line – it wasn’t enticing.