Branding campaign that breathes local life

The Department of Tourism (DOT) in the Philippines has refreshed its signature campaign ‘It’s More Fun in the Philippines!’ with the help of advertising agency BBDO Guerrero.

The new branding identity includes a fresh typeface that breathes life and comes even closer to the heart of the nation.

Most notably, the tourism campaign’s previous sans serif, ‘Harabara’ has been replaced with ‘Barabara’—a sound that seems to have a more local ring to it.

The new typeface takes inspiration from the charming hand-painted signs that adorn the country’s jeepneys, tricycles, and beach resorts. It was designed by BBDO Guerrero’s Filipino art director, 25-year-old Michelle Co.

While Co was handed an existing selection of typefaces to work with, “I felt like the Philippines has always been something unique,” she told Esquire Magazine Philippines. “I don’t think other countries have the type of flavor, taste, and art style that we have… so we made a custom typeface that is deserving of the personality of our country.” Elsewhere, the campaign has introduced a “fun, contemporary” logo featuring “a weave with each color representing a uniquely Filipino product.”

This is a 100% crowd-sourced tourism campaign. All the amazing photos, even the words used for the new campaign were sourced from real travelers’ posts.

This campaign aims to position the country as a vibrant destination for locals and visitors.

In line with the relaunch, the DOT is inviting tourists to share more of their photos or videos with the hashtag #itsmorfuninthephilippines and explain why they think it is more fun the Philippines, with an opportunity of having their content featured in the department’s future advertising materials.