TNT has taken home a gold award at the SMARTIES Philippines for its creative campaign featuring paranormal investigator and content creator Ed Caluag, turning mobile network lag into a hilarious encounter with ghosts.
The campaign won in the Creator/Influencer/Celebrity Marketing (Impact Marketing) category. Launched in February 2026, the campaign brought together Ace Saatchi & Saatchi and Wavemaker Philippines under WPP Media, which handled media planning and execution.
Instead of explaining network performance through technical terms, TNT used a haunted house storyline to show why a responsive connection matters. In the campaign video, Ed livestreams his paranormal investigation, but his encounters with ghosts are repeatedly disrupted by lag. The frustrated ghosts eventually turn the tables on him, giving viewers an entertaining take on a familiar problem for mobile users.
The concept highlights TNT’s recognition for having the Best Mobile Latency in the Philippines in the Ookla Speedtest Awards. After debuting on Ed’s digital platforms, the campaign expanded across Meta, Google, YouTube, and TikTok, recording more than 659 million impressions.
Smart FVP and OIC Lloyd R. Manaloto said the award reflects the company’s approach to using creator collaborations to communicate its network benefits through stories that connect with Filipino audiences.
Meanwhile, TNT and Smart continue to expand their 5G network across the Philippines. Smart also recently received Ookla’s Best Mobile Video Experience award in the country, recognizing its mobile video performance as more Filipinos use their smartphones for streaming and entertainment.
Thoughts
TNT’s latest award shows how brands can make technical features like low latency easier to understand through entertaining content. Using Ed Caluag’s familiar paranormal investigations also gave the campaign a creative way to connect network performance with everyday mobile experiences.
