Will the jeepney conquer MTV?

MANILA, Philippines - If Apl.de.Ap of the Black Eyed Peas were to tour his bandmates around his native Philippines, it would go something like this: Fergie sunning her bodacious body in Boracay, Will.i.am taking in the natural wonders of Palawan, and Taboo trekking up the slopes of Mount Pinatubo.

Say what?

“I’d like to take the whole Black Eyed Peas to (those places),” Apl affirms.

Apl himself goes home to Pampanga every Christmas to visit his mom, Cristina Pineda (and wrap care packages for the Aetas living in the area), but he’d definitely like to see one place recommended to him by Tourism Secretary Ace Durano, his new buddy from the DOT (Department of Tourism): “I don’t want to give away Ace D’s secret, but I want to go to one of his spots, Camotes Island (in Cebu).”

Hip-hop fans know Filipino-American Allan Pineda Lindo as Apl.de.Ap, one of the founding members of the Black Eyed Peas, but few are familiar with Apl the philanthropist or Apl the nationalistic crusader. His latest crusade — apart from helping the victims of typhoon Ondoy — is bringing more tourists in to “see the beauty” of his homeland, and what better way than with our No. 1 talent, music?

To that end Apl is helping Philippine tourism go young and hip, pitching ideas to Durano that have become the basis for the campaign “Take Me to the Philippines,” a “once-in-a-lifetime” collaboration between the DOT and MTV designed to grab the fickle attentions of the young, music video-watching public. 

“Apl has not only a sincere but burning desire to do something for the Philippines,” marvels Durano. “You should have seen the idea light bulb above my head just flashing like crazy when he was talking about what he wanted to do. Why not come up with a song that would push the Philippines as an exciting, diverse destination and use the global network of MTV for this global push? From that was born ‘Take Me to the Philippines.’”

To his already lengthy discography of Philippines-inspired hits (like The Apl Song and Bebot), Apl has added Take U to the Philippines, which makes destination names like Tagaytay and Subic part of a catchy rap anthem that sticks in the mind like glue. The accompanying video, now playing on MTV, is the first of its kind — the music video as travelogue with the celebrity singer as tour guide.

If even Apl’s Tagalog songs have such heavy crossover appeal that they connect to non-Filipinos — “Queen Latifah, she comes up to me and says, ‘Oh, my god, that’s my favorite track, that bebot bebot, bebot bebot,’” Apl says, “and then I see, like, white people in the crowd singing Bebot, and ‘Oh, I want to taste chicken adobo,’ it makes me feel good. Like, wow, people are really embracing my culture and it doesn’t really matter if they understand it — there’s a lot of songs you don’t really understand what they’re saying — but it feels good somehow” — imagine what the all-English Take U to the Philippines could do.

Not content to put a Filipino stamp on the hottest hip-hop music, Apl is also venturing into music mogul-dom to empower other Filipinos in getting their voices heard. Another project in the pipeline is Apl’s record label Jeepney Music, which he will launch in the Philippines on Oct. 15. The label signs promising DJs and artists (one local group Apl sees potential in is Gloc 9), and one of its main intents is to give back to the Philippines. 

“Apl wants to use his music label to develop and bring to the global stage up-and-coming Filipino artists,” notes Durano.

“Jeepney’s open to any emerging artist, but right now the main focus is I want to find some Pinoy artists,” Apl affirms. “I want to encourage Filipino artists to be original, write your own songs and don’t be afraid to go outside the box and try new things. I want them to think globally also. There’s the fine line between presenting your culture and learning about other cultures so it becomes global.”

In Singapore to perform with the Peas at the “F1 Rocks” concert, Apl stayed an extra day to promote “Take Me to the Philippines” with the DOT and executives from MTV. The tourism campaign has involved months of “backbreaking, painstaking work,” according to Durano.

One of the first prongs was “Remix Your Holiday,” a contest that asked for video submissions from 11 markets (Canada, Hong Kong, Korea, Japan, Australia, the US, the UK, Singapore, Malaysia, Taiwan and China) on what constituted their perfect Philippine vacation. The DOT received an unprecedented 5,000 entries — many of them from Canada — and one winner has been picked from each country to actually experience their dream getaway in the Philippines.

“The beauty of the Philippines is we get to target a very elusive demographic market, the 15- to 24-year-olds,” notes Durano. “The reason we entered in this partnership with MTV is we saw in our arrivals today that we are missing that. For the Philippines to continue to have a market, we have to go to this younger market who, in five, six years’ time, will be professionals themselves that have their own money to spend. Some are moneyed already and can act on what they see.”

“On MTV, the campaign would reach an audience of over half a million,” adds Vineet Puri, vice president of MTV Asia. “The campaign will go digitally as well as on television, so it’s pretty seamless.”

Those who joined the competition also had to register, giving very specific data about themselves that is helping the DOT tailor its messages before relaying it on MTV to hit the bull’s eye in the contestants’ respective countries. “We found out, for example, that people in the UK are more interested in nightlife than in beaches,” observes Chris Pattinson, MTV Asia director.

With youth destinations getting hot now like Caramoan and the wakeboarding facility in Camarines Sur — not to mention the always-popular Boracay — the DOT is set on drawing in more young people by focusing on adventure and eco-tourism. “We need to be investing in the next generation of tourists because the youth market will be the consumers of the future,” Durano says.

“I’ve dealt with presidents, I’ve dealt with secretaries, but Apl is the first superstar I had to deal with,” he adds, laughing. “I’m in his world now.”

And his world, we hope, will become everybody else’s soon.

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To watch Apl.de.Ap’s video Take U to the Philippines, tune in to MTV.

For more information, visit www.awesomephilippines.com and http://jeepneymusic.com/