Malacañang Changes Tourism Slogan to "Pilipinas Kay Ganda"

[sharkey360]

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The DOT was warned and still it did not listen.

Ad firm says it warned DoT: ‘Don’t take shortcuts’

The Department of Tourism (DoT) was “repeatedly warned” against a premature launch of its rebrand, the ad agency behind the repackaging of the Philippines to woo tourists said amid controversies over copied logo, mediocre tagline and link to porn site.

At the same time, Campaigns & Grey always reminded the over-enthusiastic department the need for a market research on the study before its launch, said the agency’s managing director Boboy Consunji.

“We repeatedly warned the client [DoT] that it was premature to launch, or even preview the study, but apparently, preparations for the tour operator
event were already underway,” he said in a statement posted in his Facebook account.

The new brand, replacing the “WOW Philippines” slogan, was unveiled early this week before members of the tourism industry and guests.

But the “Pilipinas Kay Ganda” tagline drew more flak than praise from the public.

“We ourselves were shocked at the grand scale of what was supposed to be a mere glimpse to draw out a constructive exchange among industry partners. It was not surprising that media and the public took it as a done deal,” said Consunji.

“Again, we warned the client that we were taking too many shortcuts,” he said.

Consunji stressed “it was agreed that there will be a proper market research where multiple concepts will be thoroughly tested among the target market, i.e. North America, Korea, Japan, China, etc.”

On Wednesday, the DoT campaign website (http://www.beautifulpilipinas.com) was taken down after net citizens frantically pointed out its close link to a porn site (fantasy latina-Latina porn site featuring horny latina babes).

The following day, the cyberspace was again abuzz over the striking similarities between DoT’s "Pilipinas Kay Ganda" design and Poland's tourism logo.

The Philippine tourism department swiftly denied it imitated the Polska official travel website badge, only to admit Friday it actually did, and countered: “First of all, Poland doesn’t have a copyright on the font.”

Consunji said it was the DoT’s idea to use the Polska logo for “inspiration.”

“From many different logo studies that we recommended, we were directed to use the Polska logo for inspiration. Again, this went through several revisions until the client approved a logo similar to the fonts of Polska,” he said.

“With the addition of several other Philippine elements like the tarsier, smiling coconuts and the sun, there was enough distinction to send the logo into market research,” Consunji added. “If findings showed negative reactions towards the logo or if respondents felt it was reminiscent of the Polska logo, it would be easier to dissuade the client from using it.”

Campaigns & Grey said it learned a lesson or two from the experience.

“We shall take this experience as a cautionary tale against giving in to the client and allowing their over-enthusiasm to override our better judgment. It was a reminder that the road to perdition is paved with good intentions,” Consunji said.

At a gathering of world leaders in Tokyo last week, President Benigno Aquino III castigated Western allies for issuing terror warnings amid Manila’s efforts to revitalize the low-spirited tourism industry.

Ad firm says it warned DoT: ‘Don’t take shortcuts’ - INQUIRER.net, Philippine News for Filipinos

[Muerte]

The Philippine tourism department swiftly denied it imitated the Polska official travel website badge, only to admit Friday it actually did, and countered: “First of all, Poland doesn’t have a copyright on the font.”

Consunji said it was the DoT’s idea to use the Polska logo for “inspiration.”

“From many different logo studies that we recommended, we were directed to use the Polska logo for inspiration. Again, this went through several revisions until the client approved a logo similar to the fonts of Polska,” he said.

“With the addition of several other Philippine elements like the tarsier, smiling coconuts and the sun, there was enough distinction to send the logo into market research,” Consunji added. “If findings showed negative reactions towards the logo or if respondents felt it was reminiscent of the Polska logo, it would be easier to dissuade the client from using it.”


What the hell? Tungod kay dili copyrighted nagtuo diay sila nga maayo ilang gibuhat nga mangopya. Pakaulaw lang na sila.

[gregggy_ph]

Videos from Mr. Robert "Bobby" Lim Joseph, Chairman NAITAS Nat'l Assoc. of Travel Agency of the Phils.

http://www.facebook.com/video/video....76271072384911

http://www.facebook.com/video/video....76139535731398

Hey, be sure to watch this news video about "Pilipinas Kay Ganda"

DOT sec Alberto Lim speaks, and so does Richard Gordon and a few tourists.

24oras: DOT's 'Pilipinas Kay Ganda' campaign met with criticism - Video - GMANews.TV - Official Website of GMA News and Public Affairs - Latest Philippine News

Observe how Lim reacts.

lol @ 3:27 "..wla naman tarsier..wala naman coconut.."

[sharkey360]

‘Pilipinas Kay Ganda’ officially dead

Tourism Secretary Alberto Lim on Sunday admitted to rushing the "Pilipinas Kay Ganda" campaign, a move that led to widespread criticisms and the eventual scrapping of the new slogan by no less than President Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III.

"Our biggest fault was trying to please the people. We wanted to give them results right away," conceded Lim.

During Manny Pacquiao's courtesy call in Malacanang on Saturday, Aquino announced the scrapping of the "Pilipinas Kay Ganda" slogan, citing displeasure from the stakeholders and the public.

Lim said he was not surprised, since it was he himself who asked for the President's blessing in junking the project. The DOT, he said, was actually scheduled to issue a press release about it on Monday, until Aquino made the announcement himself.

"We were one in this decision. It's because of the people's reaction. And you know that the people are our bosses,” he said.

In earlier interviews, Lim said he first wanted to test "Pilipinas Kay Ganda" for a month or two before deciding whether to retain or scrap it. He had wanted to first subject it to focus group discussions, something he said the public overlooked when they assumed that the slogan was final.

But the outcry, he said, became too strong to overlook.

Back to square one

The DOT is now back to square one in their search for the best slogan, starting with the presentation of their marketing plan before the President.

The department will gather branding experts who will be tasked with coming up with a shortlist, which will then be subsequently presented to Aquino.

This time, though, they will be sure to take their time.

"We're back to the beginning. But now, there's no rush. That's the lesson we learned here,” he said.

Lim is also open to recommendations that Pacquiao become one of the poster boys for Philippine tourism.

"People from anywhere in the world know Pacquiao. So they can say ‘Ah, Philippines, Pacman!' The connection is immediate,” he said.

However, Lim lamented that the DOT may no longer be able to elicit the help of advertising agency Campaigns and Grey, creator of the infamous "Pilipinas Kay Ganda" logo.

The agency designed the logo free of charge in support of Aquino, but has since distanced themselves from the controversy by saying it had warned the DOT against prematurely releasing the slogan. The agency said it was just a "study."

In spite of all these, Lim said he will forever be grateful to the agency for their help.

Tourism Act

The Philippine Tour Operators Association (Philtoa), meanwhile, applauded this latest move, saying the DOT should now focus more on what is important for the industry.

In an interview with ANC, Philtoa President Cesar Cruz said “we appreciate this move by the President and the pronouncement of [Lim]. We see more of open-mindedness of approach in the marketing program.”

He added: “At this point, since this is now the mood, we could go back to basic that is about full implementation of the Tourism Act.”

The National Tourism Policy Act of 2009, which was signed into law in 2009, aims to promote the tourism industry as one of the country’s growth engines.

Cruz said “part of it is the organization of the Tourism Promotions Board that is mandated…to act solely responsible to draw the marketing and promotion program of the Philippines.”

The appointment of 5 private sector representatives has recently been cancelled, hampering the creation of the board, he explained.

In the meantime, the government should make do with current marketing programs such as the “Wow Philippines” and “Philippines, Where Asia Wears a Smile” campaigns, he said.

“We [should] do more on focused marketing. That is why, up to now, we’re on an uptrend. We should take care of this momentum. We do not break this uptrend, it’s different to come out with this uptrend,” he said.

“I think, without a clear marketing plan on the part of the DoT, lets keep the current programs that has been drawn out until time that Secretary Lim and the new government could come out with a more substantial marketing plan for next 6 years,” he said.

Open skies policy

Lim, however, lamented the measly budget allocation for the actual tourism advertising. A new branding can only go so far, he said.

DOT has a budget of $2 million for advertising and public relations, a pittance compared to about $40 million of neighboring countries such as Malaysia.

Despite the hitches, Lim said the tourism industry is set to attract more visitors in the coming years.

Lim said the 10% increase in tourist arrivals for the year is on track.

“President Aquino is fully supportive. First, he announced the open-skies policy. That to me is much more important. It allows more competition in the airline industry….,” he said.

He also added the infrastructure program will do wonders for the industry. The government earlier announced it will prioritize the building of 4 important airports.

“We’re also doing smaller programs, like cleaning up the airport, removing all the roadblocks to development like airline taxes,” Lim said.

?Pilipinas Kay Ganda? officially dead | ABS-CBN News | Latest Philippine Headlines, Breaking News, Video, Analysis, Features

[AnInO]

wahaha...

kung sa klase pa nya masakpan ka nangopya ang excuse kay...


ma'am wala manna copyright iyang answer so pedi ra na kopyahon wahahah


grabeh palusot aning adminna oi...

they keep on stating we are their boss pero wala mo consult sa iyang mga boss sa pag himo sa slogan wahaha....

we are their boss can we fire them now?

[sixelacat]

I remember Sen. Joker Arroyo saying: "Ang administration ni PNoy ay parang student council,..pag nagkamali sila bigla nilang babawiin..Pag tama naman e d ok..."..hehehehe

[Jantehshiznit]

i dont get it why we should change it. its because we have a new administration, very lame reason and political kaau.

Wow Philippines is already our Brand Name, no reason why we should change it, if we want more tourists in our country, we should invest in Advertising. we should stick to Wow Philippines, where people are used to.

look at Malaysia, they're always promoting their country in top Channels in Cable.

[budoyski]

i heard the news ganina na wala nisugot si Pres. Noynoy sa tourism slogan na pilipinas kay ganda...correct me if im wrong....

[AnInO]

i heard the news ganina na wala nisugot si Pres. Noynoy sa tourism slogan na pilipinas kay ganda...correct me if im wrong....

wala cya ni sugot kay wala man ganahi ang mga tao...

pero isa man cya sa ga hatag ug idea... like putting tarsier sa i ug katong lubi

[BIGDANE]

dili ipa fine tune kay bati man kuno...pailisdan gyud...ug ngano magdali.dali man gyud sila...Think Hard Before You Jump!para lang gyud naay mabuhat...madali or dili mana mailisdan or dili para nako pariho ra gihapon na..