DOT probes claims new tourism drive shot overseas
THE Department of Tourism (DOT) expressed its profound gratitude for the overwhelming response of the Filipino people in support of the enhanced tourism campaign, “Love The Philippines” even as it said that it is currently conducting an exhaustive investigation following allegations that the campaign material was shot in other countries.
In a statement, the DOT explained as one of the many other forthcoming components of the launch of the enhanced tourism campaign, the DOT’s contracted agency, DDB Philippines, prepared and published an audio-visual presentation (AVP) which has recently been the subject of scrutiny on the alleged use of non-original shots in certain parts of the AVP.
“The DOT is currently conducting an exhaustive investigation to determine the veracity of, and to gather the full faculty of facts on, these allegations,” the DOT said.
It claimed during the various meetings and consultations held relative to the tourism brand enhancement, the DOT repeatedly sought confirmation from DDB on the originality and ownership of all materials contained in the AVPs and key visuals presented to the Department.
“In ALL these occasions, DDB repeatedly assured the DOT that the originality and ownership of all materials are in order,” the DOT stressed.
DDB Philippines bid and won the contract to develop the new branding campaign replacing the previous tourism slogan “It’s More Fun in the Philippines”.
Frasco earlier said the P49 million tourism campaign includes the entire study, a logo, and other components.
However, the DOT said that no public fund was spent in the production of the viral AVP “as this particular component of the launch was released on the account of DDB.”
“The DOT holds the responsibility of promoting the country to the highest standard. Therefore, it will not hesitate to exact accountability and take the necessary action to protect the interest of the country even as it continues to exhaust all efforts to develop and promote the Philippine tourism industry,” the statement said.
Blogger Sass Sasot, in a Facebook post Saturday, pointed out that at least six of the clips featured in the “Love the Philippines” promotional video are not located in the country and were sourced from stock video footage site Storyblocks.
