Branding and rebranding

It must be virus, a contagion that is spreading within the government ranks that has led to the successive unveiling of three new logos in a span of three weeks. Dare we expect for a few more in the coming months? Or some form of lockdowns should the government be overdoing what it’s doing?

Before we delve deeper into these three new logos, it should be worth mentioning that at the end of 2022, an ad pitch about the Philippines was spearheaded by the Office of the Presidential Adviser on Creative Communications (OPACC) headed by Paul Soriano. Together with his actress-wife Toni Gonzaga, both were known to be deeply involved in the President’s presidential bid.

The ad pitch, which was meant to be the opening salvo to “a long-term branding initiative in line with the heart of the President to lift the Filipino name and reputation around the world,” was first seen on London’s double-decker buses in time for King Charles III’s coronation in May.

It was meant to emulate Filipinos working abroad with the campaign titled “We Give the World Our Best – The Philippines.” The print ads and videos featured three Filipinos: May Parsons, a nurse, and Charm, a caregiver, both working in the United Kingdom, and DJ, a barista employed in Italy.

The OPACC’s first branding initiative received flack from critical sectors, mainly for glorifying the diaspora that has seen over 10 million Filipinos choosing to find better employment opportunities and wrenched away from their families.

‘Enhanced tourism slogan’

The launch of OPACC’s ads and videos, mainly through bus ads and YouTube, respectively, resulted in an earlier-than-expected announcement by the Department of Tourism (DOT) of plans for an “enhanced tourism slogan” to replace the decade-old “It’s More Fun in the Philippines.”

As had been the usual practice in the past, the DOT contracted a reputable ad agency, this time, the local office of DDB Worldwide Communications Group LLC, a highly respected international marketing communications network owned by Omnicom Group, one of the world’s largest advertising holding companies.

Putting aside the brouhaha that erupted with the DDB Philippines’ unfortunate use of stock film from other countries in the promotional video, the resulting “Love the Philippines” slogan and development of collaterals was worth every single centavo of the P49-million bill.

People in the advertising business are well aware of the many studies that are made to ensure that a rebranding campaign will successfully take off and result in the desired objectives, which in the DOT’s case, was to increase our inbound tourist numbers.

The reception to the slogan and its execution has been largely positive. The DOT rebranding comes at a time when tourism is again on the to-do list of many travelers after years of curtailed movement because of the pandemic.

‘Guiding light’

At the heels of the DOT’s “Love the Philippines” launch was the unveiling of a new logo for the state-owned Philippine Gaming Corp. (PAGCOR). The reaction to this hit social media like a firestorm, evoking memes, sharp rebuke, and exasperation, the latter because of the alleged P3-million fee.

Dopy Doplon, who has a decades-long track record in design, is now in the midst of the PAGCOR logo controversy that has even evoked members of the Senate to look into any possible irregularities linked to the contract award.

While Doplon’s fee is far from what DOT paid DDB Philippines, many local logo designers had expressed their views that the artist’s bill was to much on the high side, especially if one would consider that the end product eerily looked just like an oil company’s existing logo.

PAGCOR chief executive officer Alejandro Tengco introduced the new logo as reflecting “a beacon which symbolizes guidance, leadership, and direction. It represents a guiding light that helps people find their way.”

Unfortunately, perhaps because a new logo had to be unveiled for the soon upcoming 40th anniversary celebration, the design was not in any way reminiscent of a beacon or even a “guiding light.” The illustration of two blue tongues of fire crudely springing out from what is suggested to be a red flame certainly did not bring to mind any of the elements that Tengco talked about.

‘Deep and fundamental transformations’

Let’s move on to the “Bagong Pilipinas” logo, which is meant to represent the President’s governance brand. A product of the Presidential Communications Office (PCO) under lawyer Cheloy Velicaria-Garafil, the design lifts heavily from the colors and elements of the Philippine flag.

A memorandum circular was released two weeks ago by Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin that instructs all government units to use the logo in all relevant state communications materials. Bagong Pilipinas as the theme of the BBM administration “calls for deep and fundamental transformations in all sectors of society and government, and fosters the state’s commitment towards the attainment of comprehensive policy reforms and full economic recovery.”

Garafil holds a communication arts degree and worked as a journalist in local and foreign publications for a few years before pursuing a career in law. One may expect the logo to be in complete resonance with the country’s heraldic code, but don’t expect it to be an inspiring piece of artwork that would invoke the kind of patriotism for a Bagong Pilipinas.

Neither does the slogan “Bagong Pilipinas” sound fresh and inspiring. “Bagong Lipunan” during the President’s father’s regime was more catching, as was Benigno Aquino III’s “Daang Matuwid” (straight path) and Rodrigo Duterte’s “Change is Coming.”

But perhaps, with an anthem complementing the slogan aired 24 hours a day on all possible media channels, the message of Bagong Pilipinas could resonate.

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