MANILA — Advertising agency DDB Philippines on Sunday apologized for its "apparent use" of non-original and stock footage in the Department of Tourism's (DOT) audio-visual presentation to launch the Philippines' new tourism slogan.

In a statement, the agency "profusely apologized" to DOT Secretary Christina Frasco, adding that it would "take full responsibility" for the alleged blunder.

DDB said the presentation, which drew flak on social media over the weekend, was intended to be a "mood video to excite internal stakeholders about the campaign."

• DOT launches 'Love the Philippines' as 'enhanced' tourism campaign

It also clarified that the video was produced by the DDB at its own expense and initiative, and that "no public funds were released" to fund its production.

"While the use of stock footage in mood videos is standard practice in the industry, the use of foreign stock footage was an unfortunate oversight on our agency’s part. Proper screening and approval processes should have been strictly followed. The use of foreign stock footage in a campaign promoting the Philippines is highly inappropriate, and contradictory to the DOT’s objectives," the agency said.

The video has since been taken down, DDB added, noting that it was an "isolated incident" and subsequent advertising materials on the new "Love The Philippines" campaign have yet to be produced.

"We are fully cooperating with, and assure our full compliance towards the Department of Tourism’s investigation of this matter," DDB said.

"We sincerely hope this will not diminish the genuine love and appreciation the stakeholders and the public have been showing for the Love The Philippines campaign."

• DOT says looking into originality of ad campaign footage

DOT earlier said on Saturday that it was conducting an "exhaustive investigation" on DDB's alleged use of stock footage, following accusations that some of the video clips were from places outside the Philippines such as Indonesia, Thailand, and Dubai.

"While no public funds have been paid for the AVP in question as this particular component of the launch was released on the account of DDB, the DOT holds the responsibility of promoting the country to the highest standard. Therefore, it will not hesitate to exact accountability and take the necessary action to protect the interest of the country even as it continues to exhaust all efforts to develop and promote the Philippine tourism industry," DOT said.

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