From "WOW Philippines" to "Pilipinas Kay Ganda"

**safeorigin** · November 21st, 2010 02:26 AM

d-d-d-d-damage control

**myas110** · November 22nd, 2010 12:41 AM

Aquino scraps 'Pilipinas kay Ganda'

http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx...bCategoryId=63

From philippine star:

MANILA, Philippines – As criticism against “Pilipinas kay Ganda” turned nastier, President Aquino finally decided to drop the newly conceived tourism slogan and hinted at reviving the old “Wow Philippines.”

The President said he arrived at the decision after meeting with various stakeholders and with Tourism Secretary Alberto Lim.

“The stakeholders appear unsatisfied. Perhaps it’s automatic that it no longer needs fine-tuning, but a replacement that will be more appropriate,” Aquino told reporters in Malacañang yesterday after receiving world boxing champion Manny Pacquiao.

Aquino acknowledged that “Wow Philippines” appears more acceptable to most Filipinos. “Wow Philippines” was the country’s tourism battle cry during the previous administration.

The President said he had also asked Lim to submit a blueprint for developing the country’s tourism industry.

“I want to review all the details,” Aquino said.

On Friday night, the President said he and Lim discussed a number of things, including the details of the overall tourism master plan.

“Maybe some of it I cannot really reveal because we will be embarking on a non-traditional approach in trying to really promote tourism in the country and among them, it’s like the recognition of assets that we have,” Aquino said Friday in an ambush interview in a Makati City hotel where he graced the alumni homecoming of the University of the Philippines-College of Law.

“I think you will see that there will be a lot of changes and they have submitted to me their overall plan. I also want all of the details of those plans,” Aquino said.

Aquino admitted that the image of a tarsier in the “Pilipinas kay Ganda” logo as well as the smiling face were his idea because “I was given something that was a lot plainer than what resulted and there was a deadline that they were working on.”

“There are concepts that should have been tested out better. There should have been focus group discussions. There should have been more market research that was mislaid during the launch,” he said.

“I understand now that what they were doing was to talk to the stakeholders to get their reaction on something that will seek to differentiate us from all our competitors,” he said.

“And then...there appeared to have been changes and those invited also did not understand what should be done that night. There were a lot of errors but it’s not too late. It’s not too late to rectify it,” he added.

The “Pilipinas Kay Ganda” slogan has been bitterly criticized by tourism industry leaders, legislators as well as the general public.

Critics called it bland and said that the fact that it is in the national language, not English, made it incomprehensible to foreigners.

They also said the logo that accompanies it looked strangely similar to the travel logo for Poland.

The scrapping of the slogan was the latest in a series of setbacks suffered by the Tourism Department.

On Tuesday, it had to take down its latest online tourism campaign after critics panned the website and warned that unwary surfers aiming for the site at beautifulpilipinas.com could easily end up on a **** website instead.

The Philippines has been struggling to shake off its image as an unsafe destination after a botched police rescue of foreign tourists seized by a dismissed policeman in August left eight Hong Kong tourists dead.

Lim has said he was confident the tourism department would attain its full-year target of 3.3 million arrivals, from just over three million in 2009.

what do say? di ba ok ang "Wow Phippines"?

**hein** · November 22nd, 2010 02:40 AM

WOW Philippines!!!!

**CVT** · November 22nd, 2010 08:16 AM

Tama ba ang intindi ko na ito'y gawa ng isang na-hire na agency at ang kulay at font ng ginamit at katulad ng sa Poland(Polska)? Dapat, idemanda itong agency na ito at tanggalan ng lisensiya....

Kaparehong mga kulay,- kaparehong font,- may pagkakahawig sa itsura,- obvious ba ito?

11.3K;snow:

**fourtheboys96** · November 23rd, 2010 10:51 AM

DOT is forming a team to create a new slogan. They this time they will not rush the process and will do consultation with stakeholders.

Hindi b nila ma-gets n hindi slogan ang problema.

Mukang may nakikinabang ata dito sa aktibidades n ito ng DOT.

**CVT** · November 23rd, 2010 09:57 PM

Nag-resign na ang in-charge rito.... Delicadeza. Sana lahat ng nasa serbisyo ng gobyerno,- ganito ang stance....

Inspiration daw ang European logos....

http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/nation/11...s-tourism-post

PNoy accepts resignation of 'Pilipinas Kay Ganda' architect

MANILA, Philippines (3rd UPDATE) – Department of Tourism (DOT) Undersecretary Vicente Romano resigned Tuesday over the botched “Pilipinas Kay Ganda” branding campaign.

He admitted that he was the one responsible for the controversial branding scheme.

President Benigno Aquino III immediately accepted the resignation of Romano.

Presidential spokesperson Edwin Lacierda said: "Enteng offered his resignation, he admitted his mistake, it was honorable of him to offer his resignation and the president respects him for his act. And it is with reluctance that the president accepted his resignation."

Last Saturday, Aquino ordered the "Pilipinas Kay Ganda" campaign shelved after it was marred by allegations of plagiarism and other issues.

The campaign’s logo was allegedly copied from Poland’s tourism campaign while articles on its short-lived website were reportedly sourced without proper attribution from treasure-hunting websites.

The tourism campaign website, beautifulpilipinas.com, was taken down less than 24 hours after its launch because a **** website also uses the same keywords.

Romano, in a press briefing at the DOT on Tuesday, said he was the chief architect of the Pilipinas Kay Ganda branding.

“In the last 7 days, there have been issues and criticisms raised against the branding. I have answered some of them in my Facebook page. But there are others left unanswered,” he said.

‘Inspiration’ from European logos

He revealed that he ordered Campaigns and Grey, an ad agency, “to take inspiration from the European logos” particularly that of Poland, Spain, Portugal, Italy, and the Maldives “to project a visual impact of fun and natural beauty.”

“The final design had similarities with the Polska logo, but the design elements and the visual presentation are distinctive enough to be clearly differentiated. Getting inspiration from existing designs is not an uncommon practice,” Romano said.

He rejected allegations of plagiarism regarding the branding’s logo design.

“In one of the definitions of plagiarism, it is stated that, ‘While plagiarism is condemned in academia and journalism, in the arts it is often a major part of the creative process.’ I did not consider it plagiarism then. I’m sorry others don’t feel the same way,” he added.

“Neither the [DOT] nor Campaigns and Grey has done anything immoral, much less illegal. At worst, it might have offended the sensitivities of a people who take pride in its creative spirit. For that, I’m truly sorry. I hope this puts to rest the unfair criticisms being hurled against Campaigns and Grey. I am fully responsible for the final design,” he said.

Romano also defended the use of the Filipino language in the branding, with foreign tourists as a primary target. “I am still convinced it is a matter of execution. I honesty think a Manny Pacquiao saying ‘Pilipinas kay Ganda’ will make a world curious and try to find out what it means.”

‘Work in progress’

He sidestepped criticisms that the DOT failed to consult with tourism industry stakeholders before introducing the brand concept.

“We made it clear that the November 15 event was simply a preview, both in the invitation and in the opening speech of Secretary Bertie Lim. It was a ‘work in progress. And we marked the event with fanfare in the hope that we can excite the audience enough to get their support for the brand,” Romano said.

“I was, of course, wrong. I now realize a consultation process is long and arduous, and my attempt to fast-track the consultation process is one of the reasons why it failed. My friends ask me, why the rush? Well, it’s because I’m in a hurry. Before I joined government, I was in the streets clamoring for change. And when I joined, I wanted to spend every waking hour effecting that change. I’m in a hurry to have an advertising campaign going on by the first quarter of 2011. Because I am fully convinced that every day we do not run a campaign is a lost opportunity to boost our tourism arrivals. It is a lost opportunity to generate jobs and alleviate poverty,” he added.

Romano was one of the leaders of the Black and White Movement, which played an active role in the protests against the Arroyo administration. He joined the May 2010 presidential campaign of Senator Aquino.

“I now realize that an idea as big as a new country brand needs time to germinate and blossom. There are no shortcuts. I would like to take this opportunity to express my sincerest apologies to President Aquino, Secretary Lim, and the Filipino people for the controversy that this branding exercise has generated,” he said.

Aquino’s misgivings

He revealed that Aquino had “misgivings” about the brand. “[He] specifically instructed me to do a comprehensive market research before launching it. I assured him it was just a preview event and that we will do research after. Secretary Lim also asked me to postpone the event given the President’s concern, but I persisted. I thank both of them for trusting me enough to let me go ahead with the event,” Romano admitted.

“In the end, it is the trust of the people that really matters. I take the rejection of the brand by the people as a vote of ‘no confidence’ not just for the brand, but also for the person behind it. I take full responsibility for the branding controversy, and for this reason I am tendering my irrevocable resignation effective immediately. I hope this puts closure on the issue. I now appeal to the industry stakeholders, to media, and to the general public to put this behind us and rally behind Secretary Lim, whose only fault in this whole controversy is in trusting me completely,” he said.

The Palace, meanwhile, said Lim still enjoys the President’s confidence despite the mess.

P4.8 million for logo's unveiling

The government spent almost P5 million for the presentation of the now-botched campaign’s logo, documents obtained by ABS-CBN News revealed.

Vouchers showed that P4.8 million was spent for a single night at an event held last week.

The money was spent for invitations, sound system, food, drinks, and public relations.

Romano reportedly approved the fund release.

Lim, meanwhile, said he was surprised with the amount spent.

He said he was overseas while the event was being held.

"Talagang over sya sa authorized budget. Nalaman ko na lang nung prinesent ang voucher," he said.

Lim said he wanted Romano to explain how expenses ballooned after his return from the US.

Romano, however, resigned immediately after his return.

In an exclusive interview with Noli de Castro on TV Patrol Tuesday night, Romano said the money was spent at a preview event on November 15.

“Wala naman tayong nakitang TV advertisement, wala tayong nakitang print advertisement dahil talaga pong it was a preview. Gusto lang namin makuha ang feedback ng industriya,” he said.

Vice-President Jejomar Binay served as the event’s guest of honor.

“Lahat po ng mga officials bukod sa industriya at maging ‘yung mga business chambers ay inanyayahan po namin para makita namin ang feedback from a broad sector of society,” Romano said.

He defended his decision to spent P4.8 million in state funds for the occasion.

“Palagay ko po para maipakita rin natin ‘yung ganda nung brand na aming gustong i-propose. ‘Yun ang inakala naming paraan na inaasahan namin na ‘yung mga dumalo roon ay matuwa po sa aming inilulunsad. Ang DOT naman ho ay nagi-stage sa iba’t ibang events na hindi naman po kalayuan ang ginagastos sa mga ganyang uri ng event dahil talaga naman pong kailangan mayroon talagang ipe-present ng maganda,” he said.

Romano reiterated that he was the one responsible for the branding project.

“Palagay ko Kabayan, dahil ‘yung 'Pilipinas Kay Ganda' branding na inilunsad ng DOT ay aking ideya, at nagkaroon ng malaking negative reaction at nagbigay ng hindi magandang resulta para sa Presidente at kay Secretary Lim. Karapatdapat lang na akuin ko ang full responsibility at mag-resign kaagad,” he explained. - with reports from Henry Omaga-Diaz, ABS-CBN News; ANC

11.4K:eathis: