A Philippines tourism ad agency has done pretty much the opposite of what it set out to do after it was exposed for using stock videos of other countries in a video that was meant to highlight the Philippines’ beauty.
The cheeky shots were first called out by a popular Filipino blogger, Sass Rogando, who noted on Facebook that some of the footage in the video by advertising agency DDB Philippines looked awfully familiar.
According to the ABC, Agence France-Presse conducted an analysis fact-checking the claims, and yep, what do ya know: it found the video included shots of tourist locations in Brazil, Indonesia, Switzerland and the United Arab Emirates.
RIP.
The Philippines’ tourism ministry then announced its own investigation into claims the ad included “non-original” shots, and not long after the video was taken down from Facebook and YouTube — but not before it was reuploaded by other accounts.
Aside from the more obvious shots of Ubud’s rice terraces in Bali and sand dunes from the UAE (where the buggy driver appears to be wearing a keffiyeh), there were other suss shots in the ad too.
A fisherman casting a net can be seen wearing a hat that isn’t associated with locals in the Philippines, and an aerial shot of sand dunes was reportedly used in a different video where it says the location is Cumbuco in Brazil.
DDB Philippines has since admitted to the use of “foreign stock footage” in the “video, which it said was only meant to be a hype reel for internal stockholders.
It apologised and labelled the whole debacle an “unfortunate oversight on our agency’s part”.
“Proper screening and approval processes should have been strictly followed,” DDB said in a statement, per ABC News.
“The use of foreign stock footage in a campaign promoting the Philippines is highly inappropriate, and contradictory to the DOT’s [Department of Tourism] objectives.”
It’s pretty wild given the ad was created as part of the government’s $1.7 million “Love The Philippines” campaign — though DBB clarified this particular video was created at its own expense and no public funds were used for it.
The drama doesn’t end there either — the tourism ministry said in a statement that it “repeatedly sought confirmation from DDB on the originality and ownership of all materials” contained in presentations to the department.
“In ALL these occasions, DDB repeatedly assured the DOT [Department of Tourism] that the originality and ownership of all materials are in order,” the ministry said.
Imagine using footage from other countries to promote the Philippines when it has its own natural wonders right there.
It literally has white sand beaches, gorgeous tropical waters, the worlds longest underground river, and even a volcano — forget the DDB, the tourism ministry can hire me to hype up the Philippines.
