DDB Philippines has found itself in hot water for using images of rice terraces in Indonesia and sand dunes in Brazil in a campaign to entice travellers to the Philippines.
The agency launched the AU$1.3 million “Love The Philippines” campaign for the Filipino government last week but was removed from Facebook over the weekend after the tourism ministry revealed it was looking into “non-original shots” in the video.
French news agency AFP and Filipino blogger Sass Rogando Sasot uncovered the use of stock imagery and videos from other countries but DDB Philippines said that the use of stock footage in mood videos was standard practice in adland but apologised for using other videos in this instance.
“The use of foreign stock footage in a campaign promoting the Philippines is highly inappropriate and contradictory to the DOT’s objectives,” it said before adding that it was an “unfortunate oversight” and that “proper screening and approval processes should have been strictly followed.”
However, the Filipino government said that it had repeatedly sought assurances from the agency that the materials were its own and were original.
“ALL these occasions, DDB repeatedly assured the DOT that the originality and ownership of all materials are in order,” said Christina Garcia Frasco, the country’s tourism minister.
She also confirmed that no public funds had been used to make the video.
The questionable clips featured footage of rice terraces available on stock video site Pond5, which identified the location as Ubud in Bali. Aerial shots of sand dunes used campaign were apparently from Cumbuco in northeastern Brazil, according to stock site Videvo. Meanwhile, there was footage showing a fisherman casting a net while wearing a hat that is not typically worn in the Philippines and a person driving a buggy over sand dunes in the United Arab Emirates.
DDB Philippines won the tourism ministry’s account in 2019 and B&T would love to be a fly on the wall in the renewal meeting when it takes place.
