No longer just for ‘fun...

frasco, however, said it’s about time to “evolve” and “move on” from the campaign. she thanked those who developed the tagline which she said earned merits and successes. the tourism chief said the new tagline now takes into consideration “everything that we’ve been through,” referring to the CoVID-19 pandemic. “We must evolve and we must move on taking into consideration everything that we have been through,” frasco said.

so, the Philippines will continue to be fun. But now also it will have a very substantial approach to its branding campaign,” she added.

‘Change in traveler preference’

In a presentation, marie Adriano, marketing firm DDB Group Philippines’ brand and strategic planner, cited that there was a change in the preference of travelers who are now going beyond leisure.

Adriano said that given this shift, “brand enhancement is imperative to stay competitive and relevant.” she said the group conducted social listening that showed the change in travelers’ associations with the Philippines.

“Love is the positive theme they associate with our country, frequently mentioned in high volumes globally,” Adriano cited. the new campaign under secretary Wanda teo will be more specific in terms of destination and what activities tourists can do,” De Castro was quoted by spot.Ph as saying in 2017. that plan did not push through and teo’s admin instead launched an international video campaign dubbed “experience Philippines.” the video campaign, featuring a blind Japanese tourist enjoying the Philippines, however, drew flak after allegations that the concept of the video was copied from a tourism campaign in south Africa. marketing firm mcCann World addressed the plagiarism allegations and took full responsibility for it, saying it was inspired by a real story of a visually-impaired foreigner who found home in the Philippines.

“And while fun remains a positive thing and certainly part of the Pinoy DNA, there’s less volume of mentions,” she added, explaining the new enhanced tourism campaign.

Not the first attempt this was not the first try to replace the eleven-yearold slogan. In 2017, former Undersecretary Kat De Castro, said there were also plans to revamp the slogan as a study found that it was not enough to attract tourists from europe and the United states.

“We take full responsibility as ALL ideas and storyboards presented were conceptualized by mcCann Worldgroup Philippines. however, we underscore that there has never been any intention to copy others’ creative work,” it said. fast forward to 2023, the Dot once again made headlines after a campaign featuring filipina nurse may Parsons, with the tagline “We give the world our best,” was spotted in the United Kingdom and went viral. frasco, however, said the bus ad was not an official slogan of the Dot that would replace the “It’s more fun in the Philippines” campaign. the ad is a project by the office of the Presidential Adviser on Creative Communications (oPACC) as part of its branding campaign led by Presidential Adviser on Creative Communications Paul soriano. meanwhile, the move to launch a new tourism campaign is in line with President ferdinand “Bongbong” marcos Jr.’s pronouncement during his first state of the Nation Address when he mentioned his vision to enhance the filipino brand of tourism.

It is also part of the government’s push to make Philippines a “tourism powerhouse” in southeast Asia, in accordance with the National tourism Development Plan for 2023 to 2028. n

DOH chief wants COVID-19 health...

typhoon signal,” he said.

the Who declared CoVID-19 as a “public health emergency of international concern” on Jan. 30, 2020. It lifted the global emergency status for CoVID-19 on may 5 this year.

In the Philippines, Proclamation No. 922 issued on march 8, 2020 shall remain in effect until the President lifts it. Proclamation 929, issued on march 16, 2020, declared a CoVID-related state of calamity nationwide. It remained in effect until Dec. 31, 2022.

the country recorded close to 3,500 CoVID-19 infections in the past week, the Doh reported. the latest CoVID-19 Bulletin issued by the Doh showed 3,442 new cases logged from June 19 to 25.

the Doh also recorded 37 patients in severe and critical condition, and no CoVID-19 death from June 5 to 18.

the daily average number of new CoVID-19 cases is 492, which is 20 percent lower than the figure recorded from June 12 to 18.

Last sunday, June 25, the health department recorded 325 patients who sought admission to hospitals due to severe and critical CoVID-19. the number was 10.7 percent of the total CoVID-19 admissions in the country. out of the 1,564 ICU beds intended for CoVID-19 patients, 204 (13 percent) were occupied while 17.7 percent or 2,274 of 12,855 non-ICU CoVID-19 beds were being used. the Doh also reported that as of march 19, more than 78 million individuals or 100.44 percent of the target population have been vaccinated against CoVID-19. the figure included 5,371 individuals vaccinated from march 13 to 19. furthermore, more than 23 million individuals have received their booster shots, including 10,177 individuals boosted in the same week. the Doh likewise said that 7.1 million senior citizens or 82.16 percent of the target A2 population were able to receive their primary vaccine series. the health department has advised the public to continuously observe minimum public health standards. the Doh said the elderly, as well as those with comorbidities and the immune compromised are highly encouraged to still wear face masks. meanwhile, the food and Drug Administration (fDA) on monday, June 26 announced it had granted the Pfizer bivalent CoVID-19 vaccine a certificate of product registration (CPr). the fDA is pleased to announce the approval of the application and grant of CPr for tozinameran + famtozinameran (15 mcg/15 mcg)/0.3 mL Dispersion for Injection with a brand name, Comirnaty original/omicron B.A.4-5,” the agency said in a statement. the fDA has granted the CPr with five years validity after a comprehensive evaluation process, extensive clinical trials and thorough assessment of all available scientific data and information provided by the vaccine manufacturer and comprehensive evaluation process,” it added.

Last feb. 21, Pfizer submitted a CPr application under monitored release for their CoVID-19 vaccine to fDA, whose director general Dr. samuel Zacate has urged pharmaceutical companies to apply and complete requirements for other sArsCoV-2 vaccines. n

June 8, 2023