Philippines Invites YouTube Star to Mother Country
Instead of putting together a slick campaign about the Philippines' wonder and majesty, the Philippine Department of Tourism has done something that we think is risky but probably worthwhile.
It invited HappySlip, a Filipino-American who built a YouTube following with her impersonations of family members, to visit the country on its tab.
Here's HappySlip's arrival video. It includes a link for Experience Philippines; we're guessing that'll appear on all the videos documenting her trip.
This is clearly an emotional journey for HappySlip, which will probably prove useful to the Tourism Department, but kudos to the country for reaching out to second- and third-gen Filipino-Americans through user-generated video. It'll be neat to see how the effort pans out.
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HappySlip is by far my favorite internet celebrity! I'm so stoked, and can't wait to see her impersonation of her visit. :)
It is hard to believe any government could be so smart as to do this. I love HappySlip who is also my favorite internet celebrity.
It is hard to believe any government could be so smart as to do this. I love HappySlip who is also my favorite internet celebrity. Go Christine.
It is hard to believe any government could be so smart as to do this. I love HappySlip who is also my favorite internet celebrity. Go Christine.
my hats out to D.O.T. for having Happy Slip over who may i say has truly become global,so that her influence in the internet blogging community will be of impact, no doubt. Not to mention over 5 million viewers to her site, so that what she promotes will have significance however little yet internationally as limitless and as universal as the web can be. She will a symbol of fun and adventure and who found it in Philippine soil on her vacation here. So Kudos to Ace Durano & staff, brilliant idea to enlist Happy slip before Jollibee makes her representative of how to Be Jolly . She, Happy slip will represent most if not all that suggests Happy and that is found only in the Philippines. She will also promote Tourism, and diminish fear if not dissolve it for where will someone, who looks to Be Happy go to visit somewhere far and Peaceful, to a country where folks are free spirited and in so Being brings inspiration that is contagious,and keeps the sense of adventure for both the visitors as well the tour operators excited to share the country that they love.