MY daughter jokingly calls my Smart Postpaid line a “frontliner” because during the time we’ve been quarantined, this has served as our hot spot as our home Internet has kind of given up on us. My daughter’s job is related to social media and her work volume is quite heavy so she needs fast and reliable Internet. I love how my Smart LTE sees us through our work (from home) days. Full disclosure: I paid this line and I continue to pay for it. My former employer paid for the unit I am using right now.
Anyway, I mentioned this because Smart recently launched its new tagline in Filipino: “Simple. Smart Ako.” The line is delivered by Smart’s new face, Korean actor Hyun Bin, in the brand’s new TVC. Hyun Bin plays North Korean officer Captain Ri opposite actress Son Ye-jin in the phenomenally successful drama Crash Landing on You (CLOY), which is streaming on Netflix. The 37-year-old actor first became popular in the Philippines after appearing in the 2005 romantic comedy My Name is Kim Sam-soon. He was also in the romantic fantasy drama Secret Garden (2010-2011) and fantasy drama Memories of the Alhambra (2018-2019).
In Smart’s latest TV commercial, Hyun Bin rides a sports car and zooms past the city streets—a fitting reference to the blazing speeds by which Filipinos can enjoy their daily dose of entertainment powered by Smart LTE and Giga promos.
In an online press conference organized by Smart, it was disclosed that the TVC was shot in its entirety in Korea, with the Smart team online on Zoom to supervise the shoot, which was took place from 1 pm to 12 mn of May 12.
Jane Jimenez Basas, Smart’s senior vice president and head of wireless consumer business, is a Hyun Bin fan. The first Korean drama that she watched was Crash Landing on You.
“Bringing Hyun Bin into the Smart family was something that was natural to us. We knew he has a big following. Even Al’s wife made him watch CLOY,” said Basas. Al is Alfredo Panlilio, Smart president and CEO, and PLDT chief revenue officer.
Basas even got her boss’ permission go to Korea for the TVC shoot. But the pandemic happened and travel had to be suspended.
“One hundred percent of the project, except for the shoot, was done online. This is the power of technology. We got him [Hyun Bin] to sign the contract in April and, surprisingly, working with his team was simple and easy,” said Basas.
“I think they understood the challenges that we have been facing globally. And what was surprising was, like his character in the popular series, he didn’t make a lot of fuss. They would tell us if it’s doable or not, and obviously they were working with obvious diligence and they were very professional,” said Lloyd Manaloto, Smart vice president for corporate marketing strategy.
Smart’s new tagline is not only about its new endorser. “We move forward into this new norm. We need to continue to innovate. Our new tagline is drawn from our history of innovations. Smart Load and Pasaload are things that may seem so simple now but they’ve helped so many Filipinos. We are embracing our role as a digital lifestyle enabler that keeps innovating to make the lives of our customers simpler. Now that the world becomes more and more complicated, we believe that what matters most in life are the simplest things,” said Panlilio.
The new campaign follows a string of awards from third-party mobile analytics firms that recognize Smart as the country’s fastest mobile data network.
Ookla, the global leader in Internet testing and analysis, cited Smart as the Philippines’ Speedtest Awards Winner for mobile network speed during Q1-Q4 2019. To win this award, Smart achieved a Speed Score of 17.40, with average speeds of 19.62 Mbps for download and 9.45 Mbps for upload.
Opensignal, an independent mobile analytics firm, reported in its April 2020 Mobile Network Experience Report for the Philippines that Smart remained ahead of the competition in terms of video experience, upload and download speed experience, voice app experience, games experience and 4G availability. Smart’s mobile data network now supports a wide range of Giga promos catering to the different needs of its subscribers.
Giga Video is for subscribers who want to binge-watch the latest K-dramas, online shows and series, while Giga Stories is for those who love sharing their experiences with friends and loved ones on social media. Smart also offers Giga Games for avid mobile gamers and Giga Music for those who want their daily dose of tunes and podcasts. Giga Work is for easy access to a wide range of productivity apps to make work and school life simpler and more convenient.
Smart customers can register to Giga promos by simply dialing *123#.
Toward the end of the online press conference, the Smart people were asked about their future plans for Hyun Bin and they disclosed that there is a second TVC. But for me, the best statement came from Panlilio when asked about the possibility of Smart getting more Korean endorsers.
“Captain Ri is lonely because he is alone.”
Will Smart do what we think they will do? Will they bring together Hyun Bin and Son Ye-jin together for a campaign? These are exciting times, indeed.