Albay 2nd District Rep. Jose Ma. 'Joey' Salceda on Sunday said DBB Philippines, the advertising agency contracted by the Department of Tourism (DOT), did “lousy work” in the ‘Love The Philippines’ tourism video.
He made the statement after the ad agency admitted and apologized for using non-original videos or foreign stock footage in the campaign video.
“The whole mess with the contractor using stock in the promotional video proves my earliest point about the DOT either apologizing to Albay, or firing the consultant,” Salceda said.
“Clearly, the exclusion of Mayon and other tourist attractions intrinsic to the Philippine brand was just a symptom of "trabahong tamad" that is now evident to everyone,” he added.
The Albay lawmaker also hit the ad agency for saying that the first campaign video was just a “mood video to excite internal stakeholders”.
“For something critical as an entire country's image, you don't "set the mood" with plagiarism,” Salceda pointed out.
He said there’s nothing wrong in wanting the country’s brand to reflect its own identity and aspirations.
Salceda refused to comment about the DOT’s new branding itself, saying that it is still too early to say that the new slogan will work.
Earlier, the Albay lawmaker first expressed his disappointment with DOT Secretary Christina Frasco for the non-exclusion of the majestic Mount Mayon in the ‘Love The Philippines’ tourism video.
Salceda first said that exclusion could affect the province’s tourism industry, particularly thousands of Albayano families who are making a living.
But DOT Secretary Cristina Frasco clarified that there was no intention to exclude Mayon Volcano.
