Last week, the Philippines Department of Tourism unveiled its latest campaign. While we have ‘Incredible India!,’ Malaysia has ‘Truly Asia’ and Philippines had ‘WOW! Philippines,’ the new campaign is called ‘It’s more fun in the Philippines‘. It may not have sounded great instantly, but I quickly began to like it as I saw more of the campaign’s visuals. It’s a very effective campaign in getting the youth of Philippines to play their part in getting creative with their own submissions and sharing them with their friends. It’s trendy, very current… and absolutely freakin’ perfect as a meme generator!
The brains behind this campaign surely knew people were going to have fun with the tagline and it’s many, many possible variations. Even though the Department of Tourism won’t appreciate the negative variations, being the Philippines, it just can’t be helped. As they say: “There is no such thing as bad publicity”
So here are my creations:
(Above photo was taken on a bus ride from Puerto Princesa to El Nido)
(Photo was clicked while undertaking the arduous trek to Batad village in Banaue)
(The above happened to me in Angeles City)
(The above two photo photographs were from the Good Friday celebrations in Pampanga)
(These kids were having a ball in El Nido)
(This was taken on Seven Commandos beach)
And finally…
Update (10/01/2012):
Update (17/01/2012): Got some more! 🙂
(The tarsiers are famous residents of Bohol)
(Again, another photo I clicked when I toured Bohol)
(Both taken from Bohol’s most famous Chocolate Hills)
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Now, if there are any sensitive Filipinos that land up on this page and thinks the above is a mockery of your country by an Indian — please don’t. I’m not insulting the Philippines at all. I’m sure Filipinos can do that way better than I can. In fact, here’s what I think about your country. Trust me, I would love to visit Philippines again! I just did this for fun, like the many who have turned this campaign into an internet meme.
As soon as this new slogan was announced, some Filipinos lambasted it saying it’s a rip-off of a Swiss tourism ad from 1951. Who cares! ‘It’s more fun in the Philippines‘ works better for a country that has a lot more to offer than the snow-capped nation of banks with illicit money. I just hope the campaign is well promoted and sees a return on its investment.
P.S: I’ll update this post with some more pics as and when I come up with new ones 🙂 Oh, and if you want to create your own version using software such as Photoshop (what I used), download the Harabara Bold font from here, the slogan .eps file and you can refer to this website for some tips.
Ryan Bayona
10/01/2012I knew you would do it too! I was hunting for pics in your blog for me to use (read: please allow me to use the pics for this campaign)
Mithun Divakaran Reply:
January 10th, 2012 at 11:29 AM
Yeah sure, but leave credits intact, or if you intend to put them up on Facebook or your own blog, link back to the source post.
cbspazz
10/01/2012MOAR please!
Pingback: Getting in on the "Fun"
JR
12/01/2012Apparently, the tourism department hasn’t spent anything yet for launching the campaign, but already has caught the attention and reaction of the online world.
And, I don’t think Swiss can post as much fun pictures as what Filipinos can offer. :-)…The bad images can just easily be turned into a positive photo, just by creating a very good tagline. 🙂 And, I like what you just did. I laughed at your tag in NAIA1.
Cornelius
24/01/2012I’m from the Philippines and I love your article. Thanks and keep it up. ^_^
Mithun Divakaran Reply:
January 24th, 2012 at 2:58 PM
Thanks Cornelius! 🙂
pg from ph
28/01/2012it’s fun reading your article 😉
Mithun Divakaran Reply:
January 28th, 2012 at 3:48 PM
I had fun writing it! 😉
Berniemack Arellano
31/01/2012Well Mithun, its really “more fun in the Philippines.” Looks like its a sign that sometime soon, you’ll be back here! 😀
Noah Agatha
11/02/2012hello! thank you for such funny, interesting and witty pics about my country. I appreciate it. I am sure that many Filipinos appreciate it too.
Mithun Divakaran Reply:
February 11th, 2012 at 12:07 PM
You’re welcome Noah 🙂
Sherry Lou
02/05/2012Thanks for writing and posting pictures of your amazing experience in El Nido. I’m Filipino but haven’t been north of Puerto Princesa. We’ll be going there Mid-May 2012, so your blog really helped us a lot in terms of what to expect in El Nido. Thank you for visiting the Philippines and for sharing your experience to the world!
Mithun Divakaran Reply:
May 2nd, 2012 at 5:12 PM
Thank you for your kind words. I really want to come back to the Philippines! 🙂
itsmorefromthephilippines
07/07/2012weve got more from the PH just visist us at this link http://www.facebook.com/thetruefilipino
Mon-mon
18/11/2012Getting Nailed. I died laughing. hahaha
Meki
25/11/2012I’m Pinoy and I thought this was sweet. Thanks for the article! Cheers! Come by soon!
david b
08/03/2013Hi, I thoroughly enjoyed reading your blog.
I especially liked your creative photos and take on “It’s more fun in the Philippines”. I am xx % Filipino and did not mind it at all – in fact, I found them humorous.
I have added your blog on my favourite blogs list.
I enjoy visiting different spots in the Philippines … so far, 30 tourist spots and 150 islands done, 6900 islands to go 🙂
Here is my Philippines Travel Blog – http://expattraveller.blogspot.com/