We don’t need an emotional tourism ad to get people to visit our country

Perhaps the success of viral ads like that of Jollibee’s Valentine’s Day series have inspired agencies and brands everywhere to tap into the emotional, heart wrenching concept for advertisements. So much that even the Department of Tourism decided to go with a touching albeit unoriginal concept for this year’s commercial, featuring a blind Japanese retiree enjoying his experiences in the country.

Although the essence of the ad, which ultimately posits that anyone, even those with handicaps, can enjoy the Philippines, the execution was just sorely unoriginal, leaving what might have been an inspiring video to be snubbed and scrapped. Shame.

In response to the issue, Creatives of Manila, a Twitter account representing advertising creatives, released their own unofficial DOT commercial. The one and a half-minute video juxtaposes voice-overs of foreign news outlets reporting on current affairs in the Philippines, with a montage of breath-taking footage of the country’s different sites.

Simple yet still impactful.

Popular vlogger Nuseir Yassin, also known as Nas, got wind of the DOT issue as well, and in response, released his own video, “8 days in the Philippines in 8 minutes.” The video reportedly only cost him $100, versus the million-peso contract between DOT and McCann Worldgroup. Nas’ video also puts a new spin to the now-well loved “It’s more fun in the Philippines” slogan, saying instead that “There’s more love in the Philippines.”

“If tourism departments are interested in exposure—and not cinematography and actors—then this should do the job. Some of the best videos are the simplest,” Nas says in a report by Inquirer.

We’ve rounded up some videos, that may just inspire your wanderlust for the Philippines. Sometimes you really don’t need a stellar concept—just let our sights and sites speak for themselves.