‘Love the Philippines’? One-on-One with Richard Gordon | Kausapin natin si dating senador at Tourism Secretary Dick Gordon tungkol sa isyu ng stock footage na ginamit sa bagong tourism campaign na “Love the Philippines.” FACTS FIRST WITH CHRISTIAN ESGUERRA
A good tourism campaign is not about having the catchiest slogan, former senator and former tourism chief Richard Gordon said on July 4 as he weighed in on the “Love the Philippines” controversy.
Speaking on Facts First with Christian Esguerra, Gordon said tourism campaigns should be studied from the standpoint of credibility.
“Hindi ‘yan nakukuha sa slogan. Nakukuha yan sa culture na ini-establish natin,” he said.
[It cannot be done through slogans only. It’s done through the culture we want to establish.]
Gordon said the “Love the Philippines” campaign was probably rushed to execution in time for the Department of Tourism’s (DOT) 50th anniversary.
The ex-senator agreed with the statement of Albay Rep. Joey Salceda that the department did not thoroughly prepare for the campaign launch.
The concept of the campaign was good but the DOT did not inspect the video fully, he said.
‘A misunderstanding’
‘Love the Philippines’ campaign paano na? | Sinibak na ng Department of Tourism ang isang ad firm dahil sa paggamit ng stock videos ng ibang mga bansa sa bagong tourism campaign ng Pilipinas. FACTS FIRST WITH CHRISTIAN ESGUERRA
Matec Villanueva, an advertising and marketing industry veteran, said the controversy over the tourism campaign likely came as a result of a misunderstanding between the DOT and advertising outfit DDB Group Philippines.
Villanueva said it seemed that nobody in the DOT knew that the videos used in the campaign were not actual videos shot in the Philippines.
“Ang intindi ko kasi d’yan (on why the video was uploaded on social media), they assumed that it was their asset kasi they produced it,” she said on Facts First with Christian Esguerra last July 3.
[What I understood about that (on why the video was uploaded on social media), they assumed that it was their asset because they produced it.]
Villanueva said DDB should have explained that the videos it used were stock footage from the beginning.
“Ignorance is not an excuse, diba?” she said.
Thus, it was right for DDB to apologize, she said. But the DOT should apologize as well and take responsibility for what happened, she said.
Gordon said DDB’s apology was not enough and the DOT should also apologize to preserve its honor. Leigh San Diego