TELECOM | TNT wins SMARTIES Philippines gold for Ed Caluag campaign
The campaign received the award in the Creator/Influencer/Celebrity Marketing category, also identified as Impact Marketing, according to Smart Communications Inc., TNT’s parent company.
TNT won a gold award at SMARTIES Philippines 2026 for a mobile network campaign featuring paranormal investigator and content creator Ed Caluag, which used a haunted-house story to highlight the effects of network lag.
The campaign received the award in the Creator/Influencer/Celebrity Marketing category, also identified as Impact Marketing, according to Smart Communications Inc., TNT’s parent company. Launched in February 2026, the campaign was developed with Ace Saatchi & Saatchi, with Wavemaker Philippines under WPP Media handling media planning.
The campaign video follows Caluag as he investigates paranormal activity while livestreaming from a haunted house. Network lag repeatedly interrupts his encounters with the ghosts, which eventually turn the tables on him.
The concept was built around TNT’s recognition for Best Mobile Latency in the Philippines in the Ookla Speedtest Awards. It sought to translate the technical benefit of low latency into a story that audiences could readily understand.
“This recognition reflects how we continue to find fresh and engaging ways to bring TNT’s brand promise to life,” said Lloyd R. Manaloto, first vice president and officer in charge of Smart.
“By combining the authenticity and entertainment value of creator content with the strength of our network, we were able to turn a common frustration into a story that Filipinos could relate to and enjoy,” he added.
The campaign premiered on Caluag’s digital platforms before being promoted across Meta, Google, YouTube and TikTok. Smart said it generated more than 659 million impressions.
SMARTIES Philippines recognizes marketing campaigns for innovation and effectiveness. The award adds to TNT’s use of creator collaborations to communicate mobile service features through entertainment-driven content.
The recognition comes as TNT and Smart continue to expand their 5G network in the Philippines. Smart also recently received Ookla’s Best Mobile Video Experience award in the country, according to the company.
Full disclosure: All news articles published on the TechSabado website are written by human journalists, unless otherwise specified. Final text editing is also performed by human editors, with artificial intelligence (AI) used only to assist with additional grammar and style guide corrections..
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