TNT has won a gold award at the SMARTIES Philippines for its network campaign featuring paranormal expert and content creator Ed Caluag. The campaign received recognition in the Creator/Influencer/Celebrity Marketing (Impact Marketing) category for turning a common mobile connectivity problem into an entertaining story.
Launched in February 2026, the campaign was developed with Ace Saatchi & Saatchi, with Wavemaker Philippines – WPP Media serving as the media agency. It generated more than 659 million impressions across digital platforms, including Meta, Google, YouTube, and TikTok.
Why it matters: The award highlights how telecommunications brands can explain technical network benefits through familiar online content. For TNT, working with a creator known for paranormal investigations provided an unusual way to show how network lag can disrupt mobile experiences.
The details: The campaign centered on one of the most common frustrations among mobile users: lag. Instead of explaining network performance through technical demonstrations, TNT placed the problem inside a haunted house, using the format of Ed Caluag’s popular ghost-hunting content.
In the campaign video, Caluag investigates paranormal activity while livestreaming his experience. His encounters with ghosts are repeatedly interrupted by lag, frustrating both the investigator and the spirits. The ghosts eventually turn the tables on him, creating a humorous way to demonstrate the importance of a responsive mobile connection.
The creative concept drew on TNT’s recognition for having the Best Mobile Latency in the Philippines in the Ookla Speedtest Awards. By translating low latency into an entertaining scenario, the campaign aimed to make a technical network benefit easier for audiences to understand.
Lloyd R. Manaloto, FVP and OIC for Smart, said the recognition reflected the company’s efforts to communicate TNT’s brand promise through engaging content. He added that combining creator content with network performance helped turn a familiar frustration into a story that Filipino audiences could relate to.
The bigger picture: The campaign’s reach extended beyond Caluag’s own digital platforms. After its premiere on his channels, the video was amplified across Meta, Google, YouTube, and TikTok, generating more than 659 million impressions.
The campaign also reflects a broader approach to influencer marketing, in which creators participate in developing stories rather than simply endorsing a product or service. In TNT’s case, Caluag’s paranormal investigations provided the foundation for a concept that connected his established content style with the brand’s network message.
The SMARTIES Philippines recognizes marketing campaigns for innovation and effectiveness, including their impact on brands and businesses. TNT’s gold award places the campaign among the program’s recognized work in the creator and influencer marketing category.
Between the lines: The campaign’s central idea was to make an abstract technical benefit visible through a situation audiences could understand. Low latency is important for activities such as livestreaming, online gaming, and other interactions that depend on quick responses. However, it can be difficult to communicate the difference between network performance metrics through conventional advertising alone.
By using interruptions during a ghost hunt, TNT connected lag with an immediate consequence: a livestream that fails to respond smoothly. The humor gave the campaign an entertainment angle while keeping the message focused on connectivity.
The reported 659 million impressions also demonstrate the campaign’s distribution reach, although impressions alone do not establish how many unique people watched the content or how it affected customer behavior.
For Filipinos: The campaign comes as mobile users increasingly rely on their smartphones for entertainment, communication, and other digital activities. A responsive connection can matter when watching videos, livestreaming, or playing online games, where delays can interrupt the experience.
TNT and Smart continue to expand their 5G network across the country while highlighting network performance as part of their services. Smart was also recently recognized by Ookla for Best Mobile Video Experience in the Philippines for the first half of 2026.
What’s next: TNT’s SMARTIES Gold adds to the brand’s work combining its entertaining personality with messages about its products and services. The company continues to use creator-led campaigns to communicate network benefits to mobile-first audiences.
The Bottom Line: TNT’s gold-winning SMARTIES Philippines campaign used Ed Caluag’s ghost-hunting content to turn mobile network lag into a humorous story. With more than 659 million impressions reported across digital platforms, the campaign shows how creator partnerships can help make technical benefits more accessible while keeping the message relevant to Filipino mobile users.
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