“Pilipinas Kay Ganda”, criticized

The new slogan of Phil. Tourism

Department of Tourism (DOT) has cited a new tagline to promote the Philippines to the world.  “Pilipinas Kay Ganda” (remember, without a comma) is the new slogan that is receiving a lot of criticism today.  It replaced “WOW Philippines” which drew much more positive feedback before.  I found the latest positive however, WOW Philippines is a lot better.  Why is the new “battlecry” in hot seat? Let me cite a few comments I fetched over the internet that struck me the most.

1.  That the new slogan can figuratively mean that Philippines belong to Ganda.  So who is Ganda? Vice Ganda? 😛 Honestly speaking, I think it is a lame feedback.  Of course, it does not mean that.  Mature people will really think that it means, “Philippines is so beautiful”.  But with the absence of comma (after Pilipinas), I think I can’t blame who said it.  😛

2.  Others say that when you tell it to tourists, they won’t even understand it.  At first, our foreign friends won’t get what it’s trying to say but as Tourism Secretary Alberto Lim explained, it’s like Hawaii when they were trying to introduce “ALOHA” to the rest of the globe.  This made a lot of sense because come to think of it, there’s nothing wrong if we can use our own language to promote tourism.  He is hopeful that other races might catch the phrase “Kay Ganda” and remembers Philippines. Point taken.

3.  The logo is somehow a copy of Poland’s boost for their tourism.  Take a look below:

Poland's tourism logo

This made me think that it really is somehow a copy of it – but of course they denied it already, saying that it’s not totally mimicked.  Obviously it is! Look at the similarity of the font, the resemblance of trees and mountains against the tarsier, sun, coconut tree and the waves.  It’s not exactly the same but it’s where exactly they got it from.

4.  That it’s like “Pilipinas Win na Win” and “Umagang Kay Ganda” combined! Well, it is apparently. 😛  For those who didn’t know, Pilipinas Win na Win is a noontime game show aired over ABS-CBN 2 and Umagang Kay Ganda is a morning show aired over the same network.

5.  Why does it need a change? I’ve always believed in the saying, “If it ain’t broken, don’t fix it.”  “WOW Philippines” has made such an enormous impact not only to Filipinos but to all tourists who were mersmerized by the beauty of our 7,107 islands.  I know that there’s a new administration and a new secretary but how come that they want a new slogan for tourism whereas “WOW” has been doing good already?  Well, they said that it’s not yet “official” as they are still trying to test the new brand in the market.  During this period, they may also consider making big changes with it.

Why don’t we give it a try? Philippines is undoubtedly a very beautiful country and our culture is rich.  We all share one common goal and this is to promote the Philippines to the rest of the world and let other nations know that apart from the soothing white sands, endangered animals, pristine marine life and enriching traditions, they’ve yet to discover the real treasure of this country – Us, as it’s people.