With the controversies surrounding the Department of Tourism’s “Sights” ad produced by McCann Worldgroup Philippines for its similarity to the 2014 South Africa tourism ad, an unofficial tourism ad created by ad industry members went viral.
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Creatives of Manila’s unofficial tourism advertisement video showed a combination of clips showing amazing locations in the Philippines, as collected from various people. It also pushed for the DOT’s slogan, “It’s more fun in the Philippines.”
The video started off with a narration of several news reports about the various natural disasters that hit the country as well as the conflicts in the southern Philippines, all while showing off the beauty of the Philippine islands. As the narration faded away in the background, there was more focus on the stunning views of the country’s islands and beaches.
And it ended dramatically with this message: “Sometimes it’s hard to fall in love with the Philippines. But most of the time, it’s harder not to.”
The video was released by Creatives of Manila on June 13 and has since been retweeted over 2,500 times and liked over 4,600 times, as of writing.
“Tourism ad obviously not commissioned by DOT. Labor of love for the country,” Creatives of Manila tweeted.
Tourism ad obviously not commissioned by DOT. Labor of love for the country. pic.twitter.com/7vw6Vuow7d
— Creatives of Manila (@CreativesOfMNL) June 14, 2017
Creatives of Manila credited the following people for the clips they used in their viral video:
- Jasper ivan Ituriaga for the El Nido footage
- Arthur Balaga for the Kalanggaman Island footage
- NAVA.TV for the Mt. Kanlaon footage
- The Philippine Roadtrip team for the Northern Luzon footage
- Beach Weather for the Siargao footage
- Max Abaloso for the Batanes footage
- Gabriel Lorenzo for the Caramoan Islands footage
According to a Rappler report, Creatives of Manila is a spoof account on Twitter managed by several advertising industry members. They told Rappler via Twitter DM that they were the ones who made the tourism video and its concept. They added that their Twitter account was their way of “blowing off steam.”
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DOT released its “Sights” ad on June 12 but it was slammed by netizens hours after its release with accusations of being a “copycat” of a South African tourism commercial released in 2014.
McCann denied copying the South African video, adding that it “was inspired by the story of a visually-impaired foreigner who has made the Philippines his home and who has come to experience the Philippines in different ways.” The ad agency also defended the DOT and took “full responsibility” over the video.
But on June 15, the DOT said they terminated their contract with McCann after receiving negative reactions due to the “Sights” ad. The ad agency, however, said that they did not receive any formal notification about the termination of the partnership with DOT and knew of it only through DOT’s June 15 press conference with tourism officials.
Sources: ( rappler.com , gmanetwork.com )
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