DOT to crowdsource international ad campaign

MANILA, Philippines -  To seek out fresh ideas in promoting the Philippines as a major tourist destination, the Department of Tourism (DOT) is turning to social media and will tap various sectors – including students and professionals – by supporting competitions as it comes up with a new tourism video, a top official of the government agency said yesterday.

“DOT will be sponsoring contests for the best tourism promotion idea and slogan,” assistant secretary Ricky Alegre told The STAR. “We encourage netizens to join the search for the original ideas.”

The agency made the announcement after conducting a review and listening to industry stakeholders.

Alegre said the agency is now preparing a new term of reference after it terminated its contract with McCann Worldgroup Philippines, the advertising agency behind the “Experience Philippines” promotional video, which was found to have similarities with an old South African tourism advertisement.

Hours after the release of the minute-long “Experience the Philippines” tourism video of the DOT titled “Sights,” netizens noted that it seemed to have been copied from the South African Tourism Board’s video called “Meet New South Africa.”

After a diligent review of the ad material in question, Alegre said the DOT decided to discontinue its partnership with McCann.

“After all these and exhausting all what we see online and offline, we figured this is the best way to move forward,” Alegre said.

He emphasized that due diligence will be strictly observed in the screening of new ideas to prevent a repeat of the “Experience the Philippines” controversy.