What you need to know about DDB Philippines, the firm behind the tourism campaign video using stock footage
DDB Philippines made headlines recently for producing the Department of Tourism's campaign video for the country’s new tourism slogan "Love the Philippines."
Despite the good intentions behind the video, the firm instead drew the ire of Filipinos who were outraged and disappointed when they noticed that the video seemed to use shots that were not taken in the Philippines and were only downloaded from subscription stock footage website Storyblocks.
DDP Philippines later admitted and apologized for this, leading to the termination of their contract with the Department of Tourism (DOT).
But how can such a big-time marketing communications and services network that had won several awards before commit such a mistake?
What does DDB Philippines do?
DDB Philippines is a sub-agency of DDB Group Philippines, which touts itself as "the country’s largest and most recognized integrated marketing communications and business solutions provider."
Aside from DDB Philippines, the organization comprises agency networks DDB MNL, Tribal Worldwide; specialist agencies Ripple8, Agile Intelligence, Bent and Buzz; and strategic business units Touch XDA, Optimax, Beyond, Field Outsource Asia, Philippine Movers, Strawberry Jam Creative Services Inc., and The Bernbach School.
According to their website, the firm mainly operates to build a brand's equity and help them achieve their marketing goals through coming up with advertisements, creative business solutions, digital strategies, among others.
All of these steps are integrated with a so-called "PEOPLE FIRST approach," wherein the group strives to offer training programs to ensure that employees are engaged and skilled up, which in turn ensures that the quality of service they provide are "at par with, if not exceeds, clients’ requirements and expectations."
Awards and recognitions
DDB Group Philippines declaring itself as a big-shot marketing firm is not just all for show as they previously earned several recognitions for their campaigns.
Some of the awards that they've earned came from the likes of Adobo Design Awards Asia, PANAta Awards, Philippine Quill Awards, Mumbrella Asia Awards, Campaign Agency of the Year Awards, Anvil Awards, Women’s Empowerment Principles Awards, and more.
In March this year, the group also become the first advertising company in the Philippines to be given the "Great Place To Work" certified seal.
This comes after the employees underwent a survey that measured their experiences across five focus areas, namely, credibility, respect, fairness, pride, and camaraderie.
Significant campaigns
The awards that DDB Group Philippines took home would perhaps not be possible if not for their famous campaigns that have captured the attention of Filipinos.
One of their memorable ones is their "Pork Sisig campaign" in partnership with barbecue fast food chain Mang Inasal, wherein they produced a television commercial that puts the spotlight on actor Empoy Marquez as he highlights the delicious qualities of the restaurant's pork sisig in a catchy song.
Some of their other significant campaigns that were recognized include the "Choose Gentle" rebranding campaign for Johnson & Johnson’s Baby franchise, PepsiCo’s "Gatorade #NothingBeatsGirls" campaign, and Jollibee’s "Best Twirl Ever" blockbuster media event with Miss Universe Catriona Gray