People argue and say it is good marketing, it's attractive... however there is still an ethical ground with marketing. There is also the statement that words are like leaves, it's very rare to find fruit among them. Now what is wrong with the tagline in itself? It's a very deceiving tagline... sure it can attract visitors but at the cost of morality and not to mention credibility. And why the credibility is ruined?
Now let's take a look at some tourist events that happened like the Rolando Mendoza Incident. I can understand if some Chinese tourists arrive in the Philippines for a vacation. The Philippines is not a rat hole like Somalia or Bangladesh but unfortunately, the country in itself was already having its own fair share of problems while having some places worth going to like Cebu, Bohol, Bacolod, Iloilo, Davao and Surigao. To keep putting the tagline in buses, etc. may have ruined the Philippines' credibility. Certainly if the tagline was there at the bus if it ever was there, would that imply being a hostage is certainly more fun in the Philippines?!
To put yourself in the shoes of the hostage survivors. You just saw a crazy policeman, a botched incident in Manila... would you recommend your folks to go to Manila?! You would certainly not want to recommend them there. If these tourists knew spots in the Philippines that are certainly more fun than Manila, they would definitely recommend their relatives to go to places like Bohol or Cebu instead. However, it has left a terrible impression of Filipinos to China and Hong Kong. The strains were really worsened when President Nobita REFUSED to apologize seriously. And the tagline itself suggests that the Philippines is the best place in the world.
Now what's the problem with preposterous taglines? People argue it's marketing but it's definitely easy money marketing. Money that is easy come is usually easy go while a credible tagline has a long run credibility. For example, which tagline is more believable if I open a steakhouse, "We serve the best steak in the (insert name)!" vs. "We serve you our very best steak!" Now the second tagline would be better because no matter what, I would always have competitors who can one way or another, come up with a better steak so I must keep working on the strategy. The first tagline may attract customers at first but think, they might get better steak from another place right? Then the tagline can be stupid if I say, "I serve the best." or "We are the best." when in fact, the results proves otherwise.
There is the saying I love adhere which is testimonial beats tagline. Taglines are important, no questions asked. For example the tagline saying, "It's fun to go swimming in Siargao, one of the best places ever." is credible because it does not seek to derail other swimming areas but "Swimming - more fun in the Philippines." lacks credibility because it says swimming everywhere else around the world isn't fun. For testimonials, just think of how an angry foreigner may soon have reacted if he was ever part of the hostage crisis or a terrible incident in the Philippines. I couldn't imagine the angry face of a foreigner disappointed by the tagline when he ended up being deceived by an itinerary that says, "Tondo, Manila, Best Place on Earth"... but when he goes there, he definitely gets a rude awakening. Tondo in Manila is a Bangladesh within the Philippines with its gangsters and slums. Just think how one angry testimonial can take away your tagline.
Instead of "It's More Fun in the Philippines" it would be best to create several taglines, You can have taglines like "Siargao Beaches - One of the Best Beaches in the Philippines", "Bohol - It's Adventure in the Philippines", "Cebu - It's The Business Capital of the Philippines"... and say "Have Fun in the Philippines" or "Uniquely Philippines". Just think Singapore as a developed country says "Yours Truly Singapore" so why not "Yours Truly Philippines." Besides, if they really insist in using the same tagline, please make sure it's more fun in the Philippines!
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