More Fun in the Philippines?
So yesterday’s hot news was the Department of Tourism’s new tourism slogan, “It’s More Fun in the Philippines.” Within minutes of its official announcement, it had become the #1 worldwide trending topic on Twitter. In fact, it’s still the #1 trending topic in the Philippines, as of writing. Until now, people are talking about it, and for good reason.
General feedback has been mostly positive. From what I’ve read, people like the conversational treatment of the slogan. Personally, I think it’s a tad too long — the shorter a slogan is, the better, for easier reference and recall. BUT it certainly rings true (will get to this later) and unlike our previous slogans, this one is a complete thought — It’s more fun in the Philippines, period. No, it’s not the most original or inventive slogan in the world (in reference to its ripping off a Swiss ad slogan) but, y’know, it doesn’t need to be. What it needs to be is understandable, relatable, and “owned” not only by the Tourism Department but by the country as a whole. On that front, I think this slogan succeeds.
As for the logo, the first thing that struck me was that it was very ABS-CBN, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. The text is set in (presumably) Harabara, which I think is the perfect typeface for the slogan. Neutral fonts are too formal and businesslike so they are out of the question. Handwritten fonts might come off as juvenile, if not hipster-y. Ethnic-style fonts, while pretty, are limiting and might pose readability concerns. So I do like Harabara very much because it has the right balance of readability, ease, and versatility. I also like the addition of the banig graphic although I must admit that it took some time before I caught the Philippine map in the pattern. I’m not a fan of how the Philippine map has been deployed in clothing and other merchandise but there’s no denying that it has become an icon of the times. To feature it in the logo’s banig is brilliant.
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