MANILA, Philippines – It’s still more fun in the Philippines, the government said, but with a new look.

On Monday, February 18, the Department of Tourism (DOT) launched the new tourism logo, still carrying the “More Fun” campaign but featuring a redesigned logo.

“With our refreshed logo and font, shared photos and videos, we invite the world to come and for everyone to be part of the fun,” Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo Puyat said.

New font

The new custom-made font, called Barabara, is inspired by lettering seen on jeepneys.

The DOT said Barabara, which replaces the old font called Harabara, is a “more Pinoy typeface.”

It can be downloaded for free.

The DOT also explained that the new design is “rooted in traditional motifs and colors.”

The new logo was inspired by local woven textiles, and is considered as the “core of a fresh graphic identity system” symbolizing the DOT’s fun, contemporary, and more sustainable offerings.

This year, the Philippines will be focusing more on sustainable tourism, with the Boracay closure a lesson for all tourist destinations, Puyat said.

Crowdsourced content

With the hashtag #ItsMoreFunInThePhilippines shared nearly 4.6 million times and counting on Instagram, the DOT said photos and videos for its advertising materials were fully crowdsourced.

BE PART OF THE FUN: The campaign calls for everyone, Filipinos and foreigners alike, to join and be part of the fun by tagging their PH photos and videos with #ItsMoreFunInThePhilippines.
Download the fun stuff here: https://t.co/6KzMmvgmVe pic.twitter.com/WPzBkxpHiT

— Visit Philippines (@TourismPHL) February 18, 2019

Puyat said some owners of the crowdsourced content said their materials may be used for free. The supposed payment for the use of the materials will instead be donated to the World Wildlife Fund.

“We enjoin all tourists and locals to keep sharing your best photos of the country with [the] ‘It’s More Fun in the Philippines’ hashtag, and you might just find yourself in our succeeding materials,” Puyat said.

The tourism chief added that she plans on keeping the campaign until 2022, “because it works.”

Advertising agency BBDO Guerrero was awarded the contract to refresh the “More Fun” branding. It was BBDO Guerrero which conceptualized the campaign in 2011 for the DOT, bagging several awards for it in the past years.

Former tourism secretary Wanda Teo planned to scrap the campaign for 2017 and replace it with “Experience the Philippines,” but the tourism branding video was widely criticized, with people saying it was similar to a South African tourism ad.

Puyat retained the “More Fun” campaign when she was appointed DOT chief mid-2018.

The Philippine government again broke its tourism record in 2018, with more than 7.1 million foreign visitors arriving in the country.

This year, Puyat is confident that the 8.2-million tourist arrivals target will be met. – Rappler.com