It’s even more fun in DOT's new tourism campaign video

The Philippines’ long and complicated history, diverse geography, exotic wildlife, moody climate, curious cuisine, rich culture, and countless quirks might seem like too much material to fit in just several minutes of video.

 

Yet somehow, the new official video of the Department of Tourism’s “More fun in the Philippines” campaign does so. Splendidly.

 

The official audio-visual presentation (AVP) was launched last Sept. 25 at the Pacific Asia Travel Association Travel Mart, and was posted Wednesday on the DOT tourism campaign’s official Facebook Page, where it’s enjoyed over 950 shares.

 

 

Coming on the heels of the less-than-impressive TV commercials that were released earlier in the year, the new video is not simply a collage of user-generated memes. But, rather, it is a two-and-a-half minute crash course on the Philippines and explains why it is, as the now-famous slogan claims, “more fun.”

 

The video’s visually compelling montage of stunning landscapes, interesting people, strange animals, and of course, lots and lots of food is punctuated by text commentary that goes by fast but doesn’t fail to impress upon the viewer, in well-timed wit and wordplay, some of the best and most interesting things about the country.

 

The video begins and ends with scenes at the beach, which is appropriate enough for a country that counts 7,107 islands, a fact that the video also reveals.

 

In a few short words and several images, it introduces our colonial past and proceeds to tell everyone about how life is in the Philippines.

 

“The Filipino word for hello is ‘have you eaten?’” the video says.

 

“Here, a party is called a fiesta…we have one every day of the year and everyone’s invited,” it goes.

 

That the video takes care to include these all-too-real Filipino eccentricities has roused the enthusiasm of its Filipino audience, who, at least on Facebook, have received the video positively. In that sense, the video encourages national pride as much as it invites international visitors.

 

“It’s an AVP, it can’t be shown on TV. It’s meant to be distributed on social media,” clarified DOT’s Domingo Enerio III, Assistant Secretary for tourism planning and promotions.

 

Enerio told GMA News Online that they chose the concept because they felt that it was appropriate for the “more fun” campaign.

 

“We felt that it tells the story in a fun way,” he explained.

 

Enerio also shared that the public can look forward to new “more fun” TVCs, which they are gearing up to release on international channels “very soon.” — DVM, GMA News