The Reverse Balikbayan Box

Before leaving for the States, I was able to drop by the Balik sa Bayan Box: Travels of Rizal. It was an outdoor installation done by Team Manila at the Ayala Museum. 

The entire thing is eye-catching- a funky display of some of Rizal's best known itineraries and famous lines. It made me wonder about what our national hero would have carried around in his suitcase as he moved around the world. What are those Filipino-made things he simply could not do without?  What were the articles of clothing that he couldn't find anywhere else?Did he bring his favorite tsokalate eh from home even though he had an array of chocolates available to him in Europe?

Pondering those things, I was inspired to document a reverse balikbayan box. What are the things our many OFWs ask for from people coming to visit them? Though, there are bound to be differences- there are certain staples everyone comes to expect. Upon entering the US,  my immigration officer asked me if I was bringing food into the United States, I said, "just pastries". He quickly replied, "Polvoron?".

Yes, there was definitely polovoron in there. There was also a lot of other things. Like Philippine folk tale books, back issues of Yes magazine, pork rinds more popularly know as chicharon (with laman), house slippers, Master facial cleanser, baking molds, more polvoron, Marty's vegetarian chicharon, Team Manila and Electromagnetic Tentacle shirts, Cinemalaya DVDs, Chef Tony's popcorn, and last but not least a new barong for my brother. Not shown here but definitely always requested: Eng Bee Tin's hopia and Megamelt ensaymada.  

What's in your reverse balikabayan box?

The Fine Art of Neglect

(Subtitle: Troubled Scenes from the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 1)

I usually travel abroad on Philippine Airlines so rarely do I get a glimpse of NAIA Terminal 1. On this trip though, I got a promo ticket via EVA Air. I traveled alone and I had a lot of time to look around. I just wanted to take a photo of the bathroom to see if there were positive results from the online clamor to get it renovated. But photographing that led me to inspect the stained chairs which brought my focus to the dirty carpets. After that, I couldn't stop, everywhere I looked there was soot, grime, and third-world solutions. Much has been said about the need to fix this historical eyesore, but I'll let these shots shout for me. 

Team Manila Strikes Fast

What I'd tell you? In my last post, I said there's a wealth of artistic talent in the Philippines. So much so that some top designers are willing to help out the government for free. In practically no time at all, Team Manila came up with their own versions of the "PILIPINAS, TARA NA!" logo and I am liking it.

I think they've managed to capture the fun intent of the original logo.  They used a whole lot of colors, quite unusual for modern logos but essential in the Philippine market. My personal favorite is the last one. Which one's yours?

Check Team Manila's Flickr for more designs.

Note: I tried posting this yesterday but for some reason Blogger wasn't uploading pics. Gar.

Is this new DOT logo for real?

As much as I’d like to support the Philippine Department of Tourism, I cannot condone the choices they’re making. We are a nation with amazing artists. We have top Marvel and DC artists based here. We have an abundance of globally awarded advertising agencies here. We have so many talented designers, a lot of whom would work for free to help the government out. And yet, we continuously come up with things like this:

This is the logo that DOT came out with to encourage local tourists to travel. According to Ironwulf En Route, “This is DOT’s new official logo for Pilipinas, Tara Na Campaign. This was made in cooperation with Smart and Perception of domestic tourism only.” Luckily, I’m always surrounded by opinionated artsy folk here and online. So I showed them the logo and here are their responses.

Art Prodigy:
“It looks like it's been done by kid who's in a public school elementary. Pang on-the-spot poster making contest”

Photographer:
"It's f*ck*ng horrible. T*ng*n*, I would rather that they steal something all over again, than put shit like that up on the net. It looks like an 80s cartoon for a gradeschool text book. And that girl on the boat looks like the scene in Titanic."

Web Designer:
“You can’t resize that. It’s not applicable as a logo.”

Creative Director (and Twitter Celebrity):
“It doesn’t motivate me to travel anywhere. It’s cheap and dated.”


Head of Design:
“Panget? Coloring book? Pambata? A logo should have flat colors as much as possible no gradient. Flat colors with dark & light background variations. Kumbaga reverse puwede mo i-apply sa dalawa.”


I kept their names hidden because I wanted their answers to be as candid as possible. My opinion on it, which I posted on Twitter: “The new DOT logo reminds me of some cartoons I saw in a Saudia Airlines giveaway. I got that more than a decade ago”. In hindsight, that was better done. It also had kids on a plane. But they didn’t look like they were attached to it.

Department of Tourism Live Your Dreams Campaign

Early last year, I was a Mabuhay Guide spending an extraordinary amount of time in the Department of Tourism. In their offices, there are tons of brochures you can check out on the latest offerings of popular destinations in the country. This brochure about, "Living Your Dreams" stood out. The campaign done by BBDO Guerrero Proximity encouraged foreigners to buy lots and houses in the Philippines. Though, I'm not sold on the idea of selling off our land to strangers, I loved the ads and the art style.  

Here it is in print format:

These are actual paintings that were used for ads. Have a look at one artist's process in creating this.

It is delightfully meticulous. You really have to look closely to appreciate the story told by all the cutesy details. Did you spot the flying butanding (whale shark)? How about Rizal in his overcoat?  

I'm so happy they did a second installment in the campaign. Try looking for Manny Pacquiao.

This is one campaign I would be so proud to have in my portfolio.  I also would not mind having the paintings on my wall. The art style feels so Filipino. It's color-happy, maximalist, and whimsical.
Please DOT, ask the team to create a third campaign installment.