{{Short description|Filipino politician (1955–2020)}} {{Philippine name|Reyes|Jimenez|ph=default}} {{Use mdy dates|date=April 2020}} {{Infobox officeholder | name = Ramon Jimenez Jr. | image = PhilippineTourism Secretary Ramon Jimenez Jr.jpg | image_size = 250px | caption = | order = | president = Benigno Aquino III | office = Secretary of Tourism | term_start = September 1, 2011 | term_end = June 30, 2016 | succeeding = | predecessor = Alberto Lim | successor = Wanda Corazon Teo | birth_name = Ramon Reyes Jimenez Jr. | birth_date = {{Birth date|1955|07|14}} | birth_place = | death_date = {{Death date and age|2020|04|27|1955|07|14}} | death_place = | party = | spouse = Abby Jimenez | parents = Ramon T. Jimenez | children = Sassa Jimenez | alma_mater = University of the Philippines College of Fine Arts | occupation = Tourism secretary | profession = Advertising | signature = | website = | footnotes = }} '''Ramon Reyes Jimenez Jr.''' (July 14, 1955 – April 27, 2020) sometimes known as ''Monet'' or ''Mon Jimenez'', was a Filipino advertising executive<ref name=twsM11/><ref name=twsM22>{{cite news |title= Creative Guild Summit: Sun, Sand, Summit |publisher= adobo magazine |quote= Cid lives for brainstorming sessions with peers like ... Mon Jimenez. He attests, “I learned so much from them. Those are priceless sessions.” |date= August 13, 2011 |url= http://www.adobomagazine.com/global/module.php?LM=news.level1&id=1207730661495 |accessdate= August 13, 2011 |archive-date= January 2, 2011 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110102055223/http://www.adobomagazine.com/global/module.php?LM=news.level1&id=1207730661495 |url-status= dead }}</ref> who previously served in the Cabinet of the Philippines as Secretary of Tourism from 2011 to 2016 during the presidency of Benigno Aquino III.<ref name=twsM11>{{cite news |author= Kathrina Alvarez-- Sunnex |title= Tourism Secretary resigns |publisher= Sun Star |quote= ...advertising executive Ramon Jimenez... |date= August 13, 2011 |url= http://www.sunstar.com.ph/manila/local-news/2011/08/13/no-replacement-yet-resigned-tourism-exec-172833 |accessdate= August 13, 2011 |archive-date= August 16, 2011 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110816181239/http://www.sunstar.com.ph/manila/local-news/2011/08/13/no-replacement-yet-resigned-tourism-exec-172833 |url-status= dead }}</ref><ref>[http://www.mb.com.ph/articles/330423/palace-accepts-lims-resignation Tourism chief quits | The Manila Bulletin Newspaper Online<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref><ref name=twsM12>{{cite news |author= Aurea Calica |title= P-Noy still looking for next DOT chief |newspaper= Philippine Star |quote= ... The name of Ramon Jimenez, an alumnus of the University of the Philippines’ College of Fine Arts and founder of an award-winning advertising firm, was immediately floated as Lim’s resignation was confirmed. ... |date= August 14, 2011 |url= http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=716532&publicationSubCategoryId=63 |accessdate= August 13, 2011 }}</ref><ref name=twsM13>{{cite news |author= Bobit S. Avila |title= A first and last interview with Sec. Alberto Lim |newspaper= Philippine Star |quote= ... ABS-CBN’s ANC reported that Secretary Lim had resigned and would be replaced by Mon Jimenez. |date= August 13, 2011 |url= http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=716152&publicationSubCategoryId=64 |accessdate= August 13, 2011 }}</ref> He was appointed as the country's tourism chief following the resignation of Alberto Lim,<ref name=autogenerated1>{{cite web |last1=Cheng |first1=Willard |title=Aquino names Jimenez as new DOT chief |url=https://www.abs-cbn.com/nation/08/31/11/aquino-names-jimenez-new-dot-chief |website=ABS-CBN News |language=en}}</ref> and during his six-year tenure, tourist arrivals and revenues had almost doubled, and the Philippines improved 20 places in a tourism competitive index among nations.<ref name=twsInquirer0099>Cesar V. Puirisma, Inquirer, May 1, 2020, [https://opinion.inquirer.net/129417/a-promise-to-keep-dreaming-better/amp A promise to keep dreaming better], Retrieved May 2, 2020, "... his tenure, tourist arrivals and revenues had almost doubled, with the Philippines improving 20 places in the WEF Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Index..."</ref> Jimenez assisted with the advertising campaign of Aquino earlier.<ref name=twsM12/>
==Education== Jimenez studied at the University of the Philippines Diliman from elementary school to college. He majored in visual communications at the UP College of Fine Arts.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2020/04/28/2010240/former-tourism-chief-jimenez-64|title=Former tourism chief Jimenez, 64|last=Talavera|first=Catherine|date=April 28, 2020|publisher=PhilStar}}</ref>
==Career==
=== Advertising === Jimenez began his career at Saatchi & Saatchi in the creative department, and then formed a start-up boutique agency in the late 1990s called Jimenez & Partners<ref name="twsM28">{{cite news |author= Rogeanne Maica Ylagan |title= Mass Communication student bags first runner up in AdSpeak Student Advertising Congress |publisher= Saint Scholastica's College |quote= ... Jimenez HN Basic Founder Mon Jimenez shared their knowledge on advertising ... |date= February 21, 2011 |url= http://www.ssc.edu.ph/sscweb/news2010/110221%20Karen%20Gutierrez%20wins%20AdSpeak%20Award.html |accessdate= August 13, 2011 }}</ref> which, after several mergers, became known in 2011 as Publicis JimenezBasic.<ref name="twsM32" /> He was the senior consultant and joint chief executive officer of WOO (Winning Over Obstacles) Consultants,<ref name="twsM32" /><ref name="twsM23">{{cite news |title = Back in the game |publisher = adobo magazine |quote = Mon and Abby Jimenez have opened WOO Consultants...Through a series of mergers, the proudly local shop ultimately become Publicis JimenezBasic.... |date = August 13, 2011 |url = http://www.adobomagazine.com/global/module.php?LM=news.level1&id=1244699947795 |accessdate = August 13, 2011 |url-status = dead |archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20120316160625/http://www.adobomagazine.com/global/module.php?LM=news.level1&id=1244699947795 |archivedate = March 16, 2012 }}</ref><ref name="twsM31">{{cite news |title= 'Make PR Work for Your Business' Seminar Slated |publisher= ClickTheCity.com |quote= ... Mon Jimenez, founder and head of WOO Advertising. Mr. Jimenez has built a stellar career in advertising and marketing. |date= April 7, 2010 |url= http://www.clickthecity.com/hot-off-the-press/?p=7695 |accessdate= August 13, 2011 }}</ref> and helped build JimenezBasic Advertising into the largest creative advertising agency in the country during his stint as joint CEO from 1989 to 2008 with his wife and advertising executive Abby Jimenez. His work at the agency has been closely associated with the rise of Philippine brands such as Jollibee, Selecta Ice Cream, Safeguard Soap, San Miguel Beer, Cebu Pacific and Ivory Soap, among others.<ref name="autogenerated1" />
Jimenez had also been the vice-president and executive creative director at Ace-Saatchi & Saatchi Advertising from 1988 to 1989, and also a consultant for marketing of the Ninoy and Corazon Aquino Foundation. He has given numerous presentations at conferences on advertising-related topics.<ref name="twsM24">{{cite news |title= Catch Minyong Ordonez tonight at Creative Guild's RAW SCHOOL |publisher= adobo magazine |quote= (conference:) What Young Creatives Should Always Know by Ramon Jimenez |url= http://www.adobomagazine.com/global/module.php?LM=news.level1&id=1219916714562 |accessdate= August 13, 2011 }}</ref> He was instrumental in helping his extended family write a private book on five generations of his family, entitled ''Generations: In Search of Family'', which chronicled the Jimenez clan in the Philippines. The multi-generational book includes his father Ramon T. Jimenez, a prominent labor lawyer,<ref name="twsM25">{{cite news |author= Alfred A. Yuson |title= In the bosom of family |newspaper= Philippine Star |date= October 29, 2001 |url= http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=138355 |accessdate= August 13, 2011 }}</ref> and his daughter Sassa Jimenez, a fashion designer.<ref name="twsZd26">{{cite news |author = Lorra Elena Angbue-Te |title = Young designer shows her stuff |newspaper = Philippine Inquirer |quote = Twenty-one-year-old Sassa Jimenez, .. Her parents, Mon and Abby Jimenez of JimenezBasic,... |date = October 16, 2008 |url = http://showbizandstyle.inquirer.net/lifestyle/lifestyle/view/20081016-166791/Young-designer-shows-her-stuff |accessdate = December 30, 2010 |url-status = dead |archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20120831193156/http://showbizandstyle.inquirer.net/lifestyle/lifestyle/view/20081016-166791/Young-designer-shows-her-stuff |archivedate = August 31, 2012 }}</ref> and his late uncle Nicanor Jimenez, who was a general in the Philippine resistance forces during World War II and later the Philippine ambassador to South Korea.<ref name="twsM26">{{cite news |author= Marichu Villanueva |title= FVR to attend 60th anniversary of PEFTOK landing in Korea |newspaper= Philippine Star |quote= late Col. Nicanor Jimenez, who later became Philippine ambassador to South Korea. |date= July 11, 2010 |url= http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=592207&publicationSubCategoryId=63 |accessdate= August 13, 2011 }}</ref><ref name="twsM27">{{cite news |author= Ricky Lo |title= The intriguing world of Inday Badiday |newspaper= Philippine Star |quote= late Philippine Ambassador (to Korea) Col. Nicanor Jimenez |date= September 29, 2003 |url= http://www.philstar.com/funfare/article.aspx?articleid=222401&publicationsubcategoryid=70 |accessdate= August 13, 2011}} </ref>
=== Tourism Secretary === He took over the helm of the Tourism Department from Alberto Lim who resigned on August 12, 2011. Speaking to Malacañang reporters in a press conference aired live on radio and television less than 24 hours after President Benigno Aquino III announced his appointment, Jimenez said he would “galvanize the DoT [Department of Tourism] into an honest to goodness selling unit whose “ultimate goal” would be “not only to improve statistics but also ensure that the endeavor would be fulfilling and profitable for Filipinos”. He vowed to make Philippine tourism the “people’s business” and that the country with its picturesque destinations should be “as easy to sell as Chickenjoy”.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/51865/advertising-executive-jimenez-is-new-tourism-secretary |title=Advertising executive Jimenez is new tourism secretary |date=September 2, 2011 |website=Inquirer.net}}</ref> According to a report in ''Business Week Mindanao'', as head of the tourism department after September 2011, an initial challenge for Jimenez was to come up with a catchy tagline to promote travel visits to the Philippines to compete with tourism campaigns for nations such as Brazil and India and Singapore.<ref name="twsM32">{{cite news |author= Abraham V. Llera |title= Who's replacing Lim at DOT? |publisher= Business Week Mindanao |quote= ... while other countries have their catchy taglines which keep them top of the mind among tourists, the Philippines (*gasp) is still struggling to develop one. ... |date= August 13, 2011 |url= http://www.businessweekmindanao.com/2011/08/13/who%E2%80%99s-replacing-lim-at-dot/ |accessdate= August 13, 2011 }}</ref>
It's More Fun in the Philippines! was conceptualized in 2011 as the Philippines' tourism marketing campaign.<ref name=kicksoff>{{cite news |title=Philippines tourism campaign kicks off in 2012 |url=https://www.rappler.com/business/478-philippines-tourism-campaign-kicks-off-in-2012/ |access-date=27 June 2023 |work=Rappler |date=20 December 2011}}</ref> It was finalized under his administration. He proposes that various activities could be "more fun" to do in the Philippines than to do the same in another country.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Flores |first1=Karen |title=How 'It's more fun in the Philippines' was born |url=https://news.abs-cbn.com/-depth/05/04/12/how-it%E2%80%99s-more-fun-philippines-was-born |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160213202207/http://news.abs-cbn.com/-depth/05/04/12/how-it%e2%80%99s-more-fun-philippines-was-born |url-status=dead |archive-date=February 13, 2016 |access-date=27 June 2023 |work=ABS-CBN News |date=4 May 2012}}</ref> The campaign was officially launched on January 6, 2012.<ref name="campaign-out">{{cite news |last=Visconti |first=Katherine |date=6 January 2012 |title=New tourism campaign out: Philippines is 'fun' |work=Rappler |url=https://www.rappler.com/business/725-new-tourism-campaign-out-philippines-is-fun/ |access-date=27 June 2023}}</ref>
==Death== Jimenez died on April 27, 2020, at the age of 64, according to a statement released by Department of Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat.<ref>{{cite news |title=Former Tourism Secretary Ramon Jimenez dies at 64 |url=https://www.cnnphilippines.com/news/2020/4/27/Former-Tourism-Secretary-Ramon-Jimenez-dies.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200502081241/https://cnnphilippines.com/news/2020/4/27/Former-Tourism-Secretary-Ramon-Jimenez-dies.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=May 2, 2020 |accessdate=April 27, 2020 |publisher=CNN Philippines |date=April 27, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |author1=Noreen Jazul |title=Former DOT Secretary Ramon Jimenez dies, 64 |url=https://news.mb.com.ph/2020/04/27/former-dot-secretary-ramon-jimenez-dies-64/ |accessdate=April 27, 2020 |publisher=Manila Bulletin |date=April 27, 2020 }}{{Dead link|date=August 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== * [http://inqm.news/yrxd It won’t be fun without Mon] by Alya B. Honasan
{{s-start}} {{s-off}} {{succession box | before= Alberto Lim | title= Philippine Secretary of Tourism| years= 2011–2016| after= Wanda Corazon Teo| }} {{s-end}}
{{Aquino Cabinet}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jimenez, Ramon Jr.}} Category:1955 births Category:2020 deaths Category:Advertising directors Category:Benigno Aquino III administration cabinet members Category:Filipino business executives Category:Secretaries of tourism of the Philippines