In search of a tourism slogan

Master Blaster
Neil Bravo


President Aquino has thumbed down the proposal to use the come-on slogan “Pilipinas kay ganda” by the Department of Tourism. For reasons the President rely upon strongly, we can only surmise he is not convinced tourists would buy that.

You have to heed the President for that. If he ain’t convinced, so will the rest of the world. Beauty, afterall, is in the eyes of the beholder.

Maybe he did not mean it is wrong. Maybe it isn’t enough. Maybe it isn’t the right thing.

In a news item, the President said “the stakeholders appear unsatisfied. Perhaps it’s automatic that it no longer needs fine-tuning, but a replacement that will be more appropriate.” He told that to reporters in Malacañang after receiving world boxing champion Manny Pacquiao.

This came after a heap of negative comments greeted the announcement of the new slogan. The public did not seem to find it the right pitch. One of the brickbats was that it was phrased in Filipino which the target foreign tourism market could not understand. Another was that people did not like the accompanying design.

People will always have a say in this country. In a democratic culture which the President has the moral obligation to pursue as a legacy of his late mom’s inspirational leadership in toppling a dictatorial regime, you have to listen to public pulse.

The President is not about to alter the course. That is the defining hallmark of the Aquino family leadership tradition.

So what is the slogan going to be now?

That is the question.

First, some people threw in some pitch. Make Manny Pacquiao the poster boy of the country.

Hmmm, not a bad idea.

Veteran sports journalist Ronnie Nathanielsz wrote on his facebook page that a friend suggested Manny pose with the rice terraces of the Mountain Province in the background. The caption should go like “The Eighth Wonders of the World” which are both found in the country.

Manny is eight-time world champion and the only boxer in history to achieve that. The rice terraces landscape has also been mentioned the eighth wonder of the world.

Not a bad idea really.

Will Manny be the poster boy we are looking for?

For all the giant billboards here and everywhere he fights. For all the images flashed in every sports website. For every highlight reel shown in global channels. For all the guestings he had in American television shows. And for the millions around the world who stop to watch everytime Manny fights.

Would that not be enough reason?

Would that not be a one-dimensional campaign catering to a particular market? Would you rather put Manny in swimwear posing by our world-renowned beaches than probably a Marianne, Angel or a Venus?

Manny in polka dot bikini would be ridiculous. That would be like Shaquille O’Neal walking in the long beach of Miami in pink Speedo.

This could be Manny’s biggest fight yet. To eradicate from the minds of our friends from around the world that we are a safe place to go. Not that it would be safe to go up in the ring with Manny. It sure ain’t. But Manny would be a better product than perhaps a wide-eyed Tarsier. A better reason to come.

Maybe people will be interested to watch and listen to Manny deliver a privilege speech in Congress. If this is what we need, let us put Congress in the Big Dome and make Manny speak every session, everyday.

Whatever, the President can help himself with a little take from Manny’s popular line “you know.”

PNoy knows.

He can make Manny the poster boy anytime because Pacman knows. Then he can appoint Liz Uy as tourism secretary to give us a good look because Liz Uy knows.

The beauty of this country is that everyone seems to know. Everyone loves to pick up an issue and say something about it. From travel advisories to Vietnamese wine. From boxing to tourism.

We are a country who knows.

Aahh, forget about the criticisms on slogans written in the native language. We can try broken English for a change and generate curiosity. Afterall, curiosity is the murderer of ignorance.

Pardon the pun but what is good English if we cannot understand it like roasted highland legumes?

Come on. Let’s love our own uniqueness. Before you tweet the taste of a Vietnamese wine, drenk yur magnulya melk pers.

How about this slogan: “Philippines knows.” With matching image of the signature Pinoy nose instead of a tarsier.

I can see the punches coming.

Ouch.