As Congress calls for an investigation on the rescinded P650-million advertising contract between the Department of Tourism and multinational company McCann Worldgroup Philippines, an advertising and public relations expert says both parties have to answer to the Filipino people not only for deceiving the world but for putting hard-earned people’s taxes to waste.
“I think both the Tourism Department and the ad agency are to blame for this fiasco. There were numerous procedure before the promotional material came to life. They must have had several discussions for research, script, shoot and the people who will be involved in the project,” says media and ad expert Alejandro Danao, who has a 38-year experience in the industry.
He says the ad agency has the full responsibility in the creation of the ad material and that it should have been honest enough to inform the client—the DOT—of the similarities with the South African campaign material.
“Integrity and honesty are of prime importance to a business relationship,” he says.
The biggest picture at stake, he says, is the spending of the P650-million ad budget which came from the Filipino people. The government should be able to discern who is responsible and accountable for the publicity disaster, he says.
“What is also troubling is the department’s seeming lack of confidence on local talents,” Danao says.
“It’s high time people in the ad industry take responsibility for their actions. We shape the minds of the consuming public. Therefore we should be transparent enough to know want the client wants and what the consumers need. And if we want public respect, we should have ethics in the first place,” he says.
“There is this one liner that I always tell my people, ‘anything that matters to your clients’ survival, matters to you’,” he says.
The international promotional campaign ‘Sights’ of the DOT was the subject of debate on who should be held liable for such misinformation.
The ad material was allegedly a rip-off of another tourism campaign in South Africa produced by the same McCann outfit.
The DOT cancelled the contract with McCann, demanded a public apology and is mulling over the filing of a case against the multinational ad agency.