Smart Communications Officially Launches Hyun Bin as Face of 'Simplé. Smart Ako.' Campaign via Digital Press Conference - Android

Today - June 1, 2020, the country's leading telecommunications network, Smart Communications Inc., officially launched popular Korean actor Hyun Bin as their newest celebrity endorser or the face of their all-new Simplé. Smart Ako. thematic campaign.

The announcement, which came hot on the heels of Smart's promotional video featuring the Korean star that leaked over the weekend, coincided with the lifting of the modified enhanced community quarantine and the start of GCQ in NCR to prevent the spread of COVID-19.


Hyun Bin's stardom started in 2005 with his lead role in the popular romantic comedy series, My Lovely Sam Soon. Since then, he headlined other projects including Secret Garden in 2010, Hyde, Jekyll, Me in 2015, and The Negotiation in 2018.


Arguably, Hyun Bin's most well-loved role came in 2019 when he played Captain Ri alongside his female co-star Son Ye-jin as Yoon Seri in the massively successful romance drama series Crash Landing on You, which is currently the third-highest-rated Korean drama in cable television history.

CLOY, which officially became available for viewing in the Philippines via the popular video-streaming services like Viu and Netflix, captured the hearts of many Filipinos, regardless of age and gender.


According to Ms. Jane Basas, "The 'Hyun Bin Phenomenon' is pretty much due to digital technology. Filipinos have developed the craze because they are able to stream his shows, hear the buzz about him online, share their excitement with their friends, and even get to interact with him through social media."

She added, "This makes him a perfect ambassador for Smart as we empower Filipinos with technological solutions made easy so they can enrich their daily [lives] and pursue their passions."


Hyun Bin's launch as the face of Simplé: Smart Ako was done through a Digital Press Conference with partner bloggers, influencers, and members of the media.

This online activity was a product of PLDT-Smart's efforts to creatively and brilliantly navigate through the challenges posed by the general community quarantine and continue serving their subscribers in the New Normal.


The Digital Press Conference, which was hosted by Jamie Fournier, started with opening remarks by Mr. Alfredo S. Panlilio, the President and CEO of Smart Communications and Chief Revenue Officer of PLDT.

He said, "'Simple. Smart Ako' sums up our company’s approach all this time to make amazing technology available, and more importantly, simple for every Filipino. We are embracing our role as a digital lifestyle enabler that keeps innovating to make the life 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."


After which, Ms. Jane Basas officially presented the Smart Ako TVC featuring Hyun Bin and also showed behind the scenes footage from the video shoot done in South Korea as well as the planning and post-production work done locally.


Smart Communications officially signed Hyun Bin as a celebrity endorser in April 2020 and their Marketing Team with the help of their advertising agency Grey Manila worked on the videos and other marketing materials in the weeks after.


In his Smart Ako Television Commercial, Hyun Bin is shown riding a sports car and zooming past city streets. I believe this serves as a metaphor for the blazing speeds by which Filipinos can enjoy their daily dose of online entertainment and information powered by Smart LTE and Smart Giga Promos.

The TVC strongly wraps up with Hyun Bin delivering Smart’s new tagline in Filipino, "Simplé. Smart Ako", in his own inimitable fashion.


PLDT-Smart Executives, including Mr. Al Panlilio, Mr. Jane Basas, Mr. Ramon R. Isberto - PLDT-Smart First Vice President and Public Affairs Head, and Mr. Lloyd Dennis R. Manaloto - Smart's Vice President for Corporate Marketing and Strategy, dedicated the latter part of the Digital Press Conference to answering questions by bloggers and members of the media.


One of the questions raised was related to why Smart chose Hyun Bin to be part of this latest campaign. Ms. Jane Basas noted that it as a natural choice since many Smart subscribers love streaming Korean Dramas through Smart Giga Video promo and so far, the feedback from those who have seen the TV has been great.


Mr. Al Panlilio answered, "What can we expect from Smart as we are now in the New Normal [due to the COVID-19 Pandemic]?" He said that Smart will always focus on their customers in their activities and will continue to use technology to make sure that their passions are addressed in the things they do at home. This vision will drive their initiatives moving forward.


One of the members of the media asked, "In line with Hyun Bin, will there be new Giga Promos for Viu?" Mr. Lloyd Manaloto said that Smart will keep subscribers posted on the latest Giga offers. Currently, customers can use Smart Giga Video promos to watch Hyun Bin's movies and KDrama series that are available online.


Finally, Mr. Mon Isberto shared his thoughts on the question, "Will Smart play a role in enabling homeschooling if classes don't push through this year?" He said, "This situation is really challenging. The schools are faced with something unprecedented, so a lot of work has to be done and we recognize that the ones who are taking the lead here are the educators [...]. Our role here is to provide them support; To provide them connectivity when connectivity is needed. [...] But it's also a huge opportunity because online education can really be a big plus beyond the COVID crisis."


Although Hyun Bin couldn't join us in the Digital Press Conference, he nonetheless gave a short statement about his thoughts on Filipinos and Smart. Quoting him, "Filipinos are some of the warmest fans in the world, and I am thankful to Smart for giving me a way to reach out to everyone in the Philippines. Indeed, Smart has brought us closer than ever."


The new "Simple. Smart Ako" campaign is rooted on Smart Communications' long history of innovating the simple things that are life-changing -- from making smartphones accessible to ordinary Filipinos, pioneering groundbreaking digital products and services such as Smart Load and Pasaload all the way to democratizing the use of mobile internet through its massive 3G and 4G network expansion.