Senator Nancy Binay on Wednesday urged the Department of Tourism (DOT) to accept the fact that not all marketing campaigns succeed and just move forward from the ad fiasco. Binay, who chairs the Senate Committee on Tourism, said she appreciates the actions taken by the DOT against the ad agency DDB PH but is wondering whether or not it should continue with its "Love" campaign. "We need to accept that it really happens -- marketing campaigns fail. In DOT's case, it's best to move forward from failure and save the brand at all costs. We cannot afford to put to waste everything that we built for Philippine tourism. Let's do the right thing to protect the integrity of the brand," Binay said. "Tourism is a sensitive market. Political unrest, negative media and people's perceptions influence travelers' decisions. Dahil nga sa nangyari, headline na tayo sa buong mundo. Naging laughing stock na ang slogan, at masyado ng tinamaan ang campaign. Nakakalungkot dahil sa unang tapak pa lamang, imbes na umarangkada ay umatras tayo (Because of what happened, we became the headline of the world. The slogan became a laughingstock and the campaign was damaged. It's sad because its first step brought the campaign backward)," she added. According to Binay, it is not wise for the DOT and the people behind the marketing campaign to insist on continuing with "Love the Philippines" given the negative impact brought by the video fiasco. The goals set by the DOT, she said, has already "tilted and shifted," noting that it may look good on paper, but the campaign was beaten and battered in the real world. "The DOT's enhanced campaign has lost the persuasion game. We all can sense the discombobulating algorithms which carry promotion-limiting consequences. The campaign has lost its redeeming value and has become unsalvageable. I hope the DOT is level-headed enough to accept this," she said suggesting to just bring back the "It's more fun in the Philippines" slogan. DOT's first 'Love the Philippines' tourism promotion video received flak after the discovery that it featured clips shot in Thailand, Indonesia and United Arab Emirates. (
Source: Philippines News Agency