The Philippines' Latest Ad 'We Give the World Our Best' Gets Mixed Reactions
The Philippines has launched a new campaign, this time highlighting its hardworking overseas Filipino workers—in the United Kingdom, no less—in an ad that garnered mixed reactions online.
The new ad flexing how the Philippines "give the world our best" shows Filipina nurse May Parsons, who administered the first-ever COVID-19 vaccine in the UK. It is among the first countries in the world to roll out its vaccination program in December 2020.
"The nurse who gave the world's first COVID-19 vaccine. A Filipina. We give the world our best. The Philippines," said the ad as posted on the side of a bus in the UK.
"I hope that by seeing this, my brothers & sisters, Filipino nurses, feel seen, not just in the UK but in the world. Let's get heard," said Parsons in a tweet.
About 30,000 Filipino nurses are working in the National Health Services, according to Iain Cox, Political Counsellor of the British Embassy in the Philippines. Parsons later received the George Cross on behalf of the UK's NHS from no less than Queen Elizabeth II in July 2022.
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May Parsons meet Queen Elizabeth II when she received the George Cross for the NHS in July 2022.
The "We Give the World Our Best - The Philippines" ad is a project by the Office of the Presidential Adviser on Creative Communications (OPACC) as part of its branding campaign, BusinessMirror said, citing Presidential Adviser on Creative Communications Paul Soriano.
The project, eyed to be a long-term country branding campaign, started in the third quarter of 2022 to encourage foreign investors to value Filipino workers, according to Soriano.
"They are our soft power. Filipino workers whose daily actions touch lives changing behaviors and shape the future of nations all over the world through their competence and compassion.”
Soriano also acknowledged Parsons' tweet by sharing it on Twitter.
WE GIVE THE WORLD OUR BEST ???????? thank you @mayparsons https://t.co/GLACHjEEY6
— Paul Soriano (@paulsoriano1017) May 10, 2023
The Department of Tourism said Thursday, May 11 that it fully supports the new "best" country brand, and that it would also release its own tourism brand aligned with it.
"There is a sea of opinions about this. But I would like to remind our fellow Filipinos that the statement 'We give the world our best' is a statement of fact. Do you not agree? Is it not true that our Filipino workers all over the world have shown nothing less than a devotion to duty, commitment to responsibility, a willingness to go the extra mile, to serve with love and compassion? We are Filipinos. We give the world our best," said Tourism Secretary Christina Frasco.
"And that is why we fully support the campaign of our President to put forth to the world that the Philippines has no intention of putting out nothing less than the best. And that idea is translated further into what we have to offer in the Philippines. We have the best beaches, the best sites, the best nature destinations. And we have the best tour guides."
Senator Nancy Binay, social media users react to the new ad
Some Filipinos have a positive reaction to the ad.
"My Ma used to be a nurse (she’s long-since retired), and she’s just come back home to London after an extended trip away to see family in the Philippines for the first time since the pandemic, so I really hope she gets to see this," this user said.
Tinig UK, a media group operating in UK, also praised the tribute. "What a way to celebrate #internationalnursesweek!"
"An inspiration to us all," said @filipinonurseuk, tagging Parsons.
"They made us who neglected them back home so proud of being in some small part of our sorry selves a bit like them in the UK. We don’t deserve the honor," said former Foreign Affairs Secretary Teddy Locsin Jr.
Other Twitter users called the ad "sad" as it highlights "this gen's modern slavery."
"Advertising Filipino like a fxcking commodity," this user said.
"I don't appreciate how we 'flex' our professional workers abroad while we lose them here," another said.
While Sen. Nancy Binay appreciates the initiative, it's "vague" and "nakaka-bother" at a time when the Philippines faces a shortage of nurses, to the point that even President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. ordered the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) to address the shortage.
"Parang may disconnect ang messaging. Is the ad intended to encourage tourists to visit the country? Is it aimed to encourage more foreign investments? Or, is it meant for hospitals abroad to hire our nurses? Napaka-vague lang talaga," she said in a May 10 press release.
Binay urged the DOT to continue its "It's More Fun" campaign—which bagged multiple awards locally and internationally—and come up with different versions instead.
"Nakaka-bother lang when you see the ad, it seems that we are offering the world our nurses—which is a bit off kasi nauubusan na nga tayo rito ng mga health worker. We don't want to commodify our people, and we don't want to be tagged as a labor-exporting country."
From: SPOT.ph
