"Pilipinas Kay Ganda" Launch

The event started at 7:30PM and upon entering, we were given a press kit containing the CD presentation, transcript of the speech that Sec. Lim was going to give, their press release, and also a pair of 3D glasses. I went to the event with an open mind, not knowing what to expect, not knowing what the new logo would look like (because I am also a graphic designer). I scanned the room and saw numerous important people like Vice President Jejomar Binay, Madam Imelda Marcos, Carlos Celdran, ambassadors and of course Secretary Alberto Lim.

Sec. Lim’s speech was heartfelt. He spoke with belief in their research and the campaign that they have come up with. I think he knew that a lot of people were against the changing of WOW PHILIPPINES or of the new campaign and so I felt that his speech had a lot of explaining and defending in it; he explained why we NEEDED the change, and I quote, “We need to be more daring in expressing our brand, if we are to rise above the clutter.” and defended why not build on the old brand, in which he answered,

“The answer is quite simple. At a time when every nation, big or small, is either creating a new brand or repackaging their current ones, would you rather rehash an 8-year old brand? Besides, a new brand always generates a buzz that translates to more media mileage for the same promotional budget. Even more importantly, this is a good opportunity for us to express in a fresh manner the hope and optimism that the Aquino Administration represents.”

After Sec. Lim spoke, DOT Undersecretary Enteng Romano came up to speak. I thought he was a VERY effective speaker. He was able to relate to the audience and caught our attention. He presented a guessing game of different destination photos with the aim of making us realize that all places are beautiful. He also pointed out the research they made on the hospitality of the Filipinos and how almost ALL of the nations think we are VERY FRIENDLY except for the Koreans! (Haha! So I thought: do we really treat Koreans worse than other nationalities? but also, which came first, the chicken or the egg? This was of course not the highlight of his speech.) Then, for the unveiling of the logo, we were then asked to go out to the alfresco area and wear our 3D glasses to view the video.

The video sung the song of the campaign “Pilipinas Kay Ganda” (Philippines, how beautiful) to the tune of “Kay ganda ng ating musika” (How beautiful , our music) by Ryan Cayabyab. Then they opened up again the divider leading us towards the stage, where the choir was singing live the theme song again while fire works were continuously popping; a big teaser billboard on stage says: “May bagong branding na ang Pilipinas, gusto mo bang malaman?” (there is a new branding for the Philippines, do you want to find out?) then leading up to the chorus even more fireworks lit up letting down the teaser billboard, and revealing the new logo, "PILIPINAS Kay Ganda!"