As of late, Philippine tourism ads have been, errrr, rather problematic, from the one titled Sights, which was pulled out due to accusations of plagiarism, to the cheesy Anak ad. Now it looks like we've finally gotten it right—and it's a provincial tourism board that shows us the way.
Just in time for the annual Lanzones Festival (October 22-31), the Camiguin Tourism Office just launched their No Words ad campaign—and this charming and funny video is exactly what we needed to chase away the Monday blues.
"I hadn't been to Camiguin before the shoot! I was really awestruck during pre-production, when I saw the photos online while doing my storyboard," says filmmaker ER Alviz, who directed the video. "I literally jumped from my seat when I saw the White Island—that's the last frame in the video. Even more when my team and I set foot on the island, man, I asked myself why I hadn't included Camiguin in my travel list. That motivated me even more to visually tell how beautiful Camiguin is."
The video begins with the unusual premise of a tourist telling her friend off for flaking out on their trip because of a work emergency, and complaining about how "small and boring" Camiguin is. And while her nonstop chatter leaves us wondering what kind of great mobile plan she's on, she soon embarks on an adventurous tour of the island province that leaves her uncharacteristically speechless.
Written by Benson Logronio and produced by James de la Vega, the four-minute video is apparently meant to be an online-only ad. Nevertheless, it manages to be charming, humorous, heartfelt—and a whole lot of fun. Not bad at all for a script that uses so few words.
