The country’s new tourism slogan, “It’s more fun in the Philippines,” continues to draw attention and take its place on the global stage.
The campaign was recently welcomed with warm reception and overwhelming support in London during its roll-out via double-decker buses, taxi cabs, and underground stations. Twenty-five (25) double-decker buses and fifty (50) iconic black cabs sporting a uniform design of the slogan, logo, and different faces of the Philippines are now spotted around the bustling streets of London. Images of the world-famous Ifugao Rice Terraces and the Puerto Princesa Underground River, both proclaimed as World Heritage Sites, are also found at the subway stations.
“I’ve seen the bus advertisements a couple of times, as well as the one in the underground, which made me stop and do a double take, as I hadn’t seen a Philippine ad in the tube before. I hope that it succeeds in attracting more people to the country,” shares John Oates, contributor to Rough Guides to the Philippines and member of the British Guild of Travel Writers. Mr. Oates looks forward to writing about the Philippines again and plans to visit in June.
With London’s population of about 7.5 million and 15 million international visitors every year, the Philippines is certainly generating awareness not only among the British population, but also among visitors to the United Kingdom (UK). People from various walks of life have expressed their excitement and confidence in the campaign.
“We really love your advertising campaign and we believe it would work fantastically well through our channels. We will be looking out for your advertising campaign in town – on buses, taxis, and in the underground,” exclaimed Weronika Abramowicz, Business Development Head of Fulham Football Club, the oldest established football team of the English Premier League.
Simon Beck, director of Orbital Communications, an integrated sales, marketing, and PR solutions provider to travel brands in the UK, finds the bus ads a really good idea that was executed very well. “I wish you every success with the new campaign. I think it’s so creative…and was telling the Ambassador the same. It’s exciting times ahead for you and I hope I can help support you on this exciting journey,” Mr. Beck enthused.
The Philippine Department of Tourism is the very first national tourism organization to advertise through the taxis’ digital platform owned by Verifone Media. The London cabs come with a 30-minute digital ad which features the 30-seconder “It’s more fun in the Philippines” TVC and 15-seconder tarsier TVC recently launched worldwide via network giant CNN.
Filipinos based in London, who caught a glimpse of the ads, expressed their optimism and full support for DOT’s new campaign. “Absolutely Brilliant! I rode the cab and saw the digital advertisement. It’s very witty, great tag line, and good visuals. It captures the audience because you’re just sitting in there and you will really watch it. Really good marketing campaign. Not just for foreigners, but for Filipinos as well. It reminded me of home,” shares Innah Viray-Lim, a Filipino currently in London as consultant for Shell. After seeing the launch last May, many Filipinos living in the UK also tweeted that they want to have a photo opportunity with the bus and taxi cabs.
Media hype through the London cabs will continue to run until early next year, with the opportunity to capture the millions of visitors and household viewers of the Queen’s Jubilee, the London 2012 Olympics, and the season 2012-2013 of the Fulham Football Club of the English Premier League.
“The world will now start to see that ‘It’s More Fun in the Philippines’ is not just a bunch of words on a streamer. It is a competitive argument for choosing the Philippines as one of the world’s top tourist destinations. Philippine tourism is poised to surge forward as we launch more aggressive initiatives to reinvigorate the industry and work towards achieving our 10M target by 2016,” beamed Tourism Secretary Ramon Jimenez.
