Pilipinas Tara Na--a Department of Tourism Campaign

This is a second shot at stupidity. For this, there is no more excuse for amateurish error, I dare say. 


The Department of Tourism just launched another logo. And we all expected it to be different, even better than the first.


Well, judge for yourself.

The first question that comes to your mind, if you understood what this logo meant, was..to where? To perdition?


Notice the faces of the three kids in the logo. They are actually posed like they need help. They are actually not really happy but are crying their brains out for help.


Do they want to leave the country immediately? Probably yes, because the words of the campaign itself says " Pilipinas, tara na!". The DOT wants all Pinoys to leave the country?


Imagine foreigners asking their guides what "tara" means. Obviously, they can probably mutter the words, but understand it, well, they will, if they already landed here and encountered Immigration officials.


Tara, for those who know street talk, means two things: one, it is an invitation to go somewhere without any planning and two, it means lagay or grease money. 


So the DOT wants us, Pinoys to just leave everything behind, and bahala na basta tara na. 


Crap.Bull.Stupid.
Idiots.


So, the logo maker probably wants to tell the DOT to collect "tara" from visitors in the Philippines? Or, the logo maker is insinuating that he's doing this for free, but wants something of value, like a tara, for the artist he consulted for this?


What is the mandate of the Department of Tourism? This agency was created to entice foreigners to go, see the Philippines and have a vacation here.


Again, the audience is definitely foreign. Now, if the DOT says that this logo intends to spur or increase local tourism, this is still, not the ideal one for the campaign.


First, the call to action is nebulous. Where will we go? Where would you lead us? Where? The campaign is asking for so many questions.


Sadly, this is the core message of this administration. Noynoy said that we must all tread the straight path without even telling us if that path leads Northward or Southward. Bahala na, basta tara. Irresponsible. 


This campaign reflects it.