‘Love the Philippines’: Feat or fiasco?

THE Department of Tourism’s recently unveiled new slogan “Love the Philippines” met with mostly negative reactions from the public because it sounded boring, unoriginal, ungrammatical, demanding, and generally underwhelming.

Many remarked that there was no need to replace the old one—“It’s More Fun in the Philippines”—or even the one before that, “Wow Philippines”—which were catchy and effective as evidenced by tourist arrivals and other statistics.

If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

There also needs to be a continuity of the brand, instead of changing the slogan with every new president or DOT head.

Continually messing about with what ain’t broke just shows ego and a lack of discernment.

I’m not going to rehash the other criticisms, of which many have been written and some by advertising mavens who cast an expert eye over the slogan and logo. Let’s look at a couple of other points that this issue raises, and the lessons learned.

I have noticed that time and again with government agencies, even government media agencies, not a lot of priority is given to hiring people who can write grammatically, accurately, and logically.

Not a lot of attention is paid to communication in general.

This misstep in turn devolves on the organization and makes it look sloppy and inefficient.

In this digital age, it also means a loss of opportunity to reach out to stakeholders.

Clear and effective communication is essential for any organization, but it is especially important for tourism agencies.

Tourism agencies need to be able to communicate effectively with their target audience, which can be global. This means their in-house and outsourced creative teams need to be able to write and speak in a clear, concise, and engaging way.

The major lesson from this debacle is that the DOT—and the government in general—need to hire qualified, experienced, and knowledgeable writers to ensure clear communication.

They also need to have people on board who can pay attention to detail and double-check materials before they are disseminated.