DDB Philippines, the marketing agency behind the Department of Tourism’s “Love the Philippines” campaign, has apologized to the department for using stock film clips from other countries in its audio-visual presentation.

In a statement on Sunday, July 2, the ad agency stated that the presentation posted on social media was intended to be a “mood video to excite internal stakeholders about the campaign.”

“While the use of stock footage in mood videos is standard practice in the industry, the use of foreign stock footage was an unfortunate oversight on our agency’s part. Proper screening and approval processes should have been strictly followed. The use of foreign stock footage in a campaign promoting the Philippines is highly inappropriate and contradictory to the DOT’s objectives,” DDB Philippines said.

Various online users criticized the DOT’s recently unveiled campaign film because it featured footage from Thailand, Indonesia, and the United Arab Emirates that could be found on the rapid video creation platform Storyblocks.

According to the DDB statement, “No public funds were released, or would be released, to fund the video. This was a DDB initiative to help pitch the slogan, adding that the “use of stock footage in mood videos is a standard practice in the industry.”

“[T]he use of foreign stock footage was an unfortunate oversight on our agency’s part. Proper screening and approval processes should have been strictly followed. The use of foreign stock footage in a campaign promoting the Philippines is highly inappropriate and contradictory to the DOT’s objectives,” DDB said.

“This is an isolated incident, and the AVP has already been taken down as of this time. The succeeding ad materials have yet to be produced for this campaign,” it added.

“We sincerely hope this will not diminish the genuine love and appreciation the stakeholders and the public have been showing for the Love the Philippines campaign,” DDB Philippines said.

The advertising firm also disclosed that it is already assisting the DOT with its inquiry.

Photo: Department of Tourism – Philippines FB