While I appreciate the effort that the Department of Tourism did for the betterment(?) of our tourism logo (No not really, but I'm going to pretend to be very civil about it), a lot of people have aired their complaints about it. For those who say that "Ang hirap sa mga Pinoy, puro reklamo, di muna subukan etc", well that is a valid and acceptable defense. However, I know that when putting up a project, say a business, if the numbers don't look good from the initial run, there is no logical excuse whatsoever to continue with it and say "Malay mo, magpick up eventually". That is just plain idiotic. This is how I see the brouhaha over the logo: If the people's initial reaction, is overwhelmingly negative, then why oh why should it be considered? It's like selling a really good perfume named "Bantot".
It is hard to deny the fact that many of the complaints have bases.
First, the new logo looks so much like the tourism logo of Poland. Really? Whaa--the--why?! The font and the style look so much the same. Adding a smiley face on the tree, changing it from a pear to coconut tree and adding a tree hugging tarsier does not mean that it does not look the same. IT STILL DOES. We still have unsolved issues on plagiarism (that's another story) do we need another? Does plagiarism sound good on TV? Maybe it does; it's becoming a fad.
Second, "Pilipinas Kay Ganda" sounds so much like an afternoon or noontime variety show. What's next? Ask Vice Ganda to do the opening theme for the TV Ad? (I'm a fan of Vice Ganda) Whatever happened to WOW Philippines? I like that. It was cheesy but nice. It sums up the characteristics of our country in just one word. Plus it is catchy. Making a slogan is similar to titling a song; you don't want to put too many words into it. It has to be something that can easily be said and understood, unless you are Celine Dion and you can very well carry the song titled It's All Coming Back To Me Now. (Whew!)
Third, focusing on the domestic market does not necessarily mean that we have to alienate the foreign tourist. We have got to admit that, even though domestic tourists make up the bulk of the tourist arrivals, it is still the foreign tourists who have more dough to spend on tourism. We need their money. So, it would be best if we can try to sell our country using a language that they can understand. DOT argued that they want to attract those who want to learn more about our culture. Yes, that is acceptable, but we are limiting our market. Again we need their money! We cannot limit ourselves to only those who want to learn more about our culture, we also need those who don't give a sh*t and just want to have fun, because that is what travelling is about for most people.
Fourth, at the risk of sounding like a snotty brat, the slogan sounds cheap. There I've said it. You can now throw the stones. But before you do, let me just say, it sounds so cheesy! Are we writing a poem here or something? Is it a title for a new declamation piece for the Linggo ng Wika (Week of the Filipino Language)? Are we aiming for the Kundiman era?
Well I'm running out of reasonable objections without sounding rude and demeaning. I still want to show appreciation for the effort placed in that ad. It must have been really hard to conceptualize a marketing ad, on which the future of Philippine tourism depends, only to be egged at and booed by the spectators.
At least they got feedback early.
**(Last I heard they are pulling out the ad. The advertising company hired to conceptualize the project presented that slogan as a draft, but DOT apparently insisted on releasing it despite objections. Oh well.)
