Smart Communications Ad on LGBT Acceptance Praised by Netizens

On Saturday - July 2, 2016, the internet went abuzz with the official break of the latest video ad of Smart Communications, the Philippines' largest telco network.

In line with the current thematic ad campaign of the company which focuses on breaking barriers and embracing change, the video commercial shows how social media and the MVP-company's services are able to help strengthen family ties in the face of challenges brought about by living in a generally conservative country that has yet to fully open its eyes to certain social issues such as LGBT acceptance.

The ad features two leading characters: A father who's a celebrated ex-military man in his fifties and his son 'Kevin' who's a fairly successful and handsome young professional.

The two obviously have a good relationship -- but the father is baffled by the fact that his son wouldn't 'accept' his Facebook Friend Request.

Smart Communications LGBT Ad

Apparently, Kevin is trying to keep photos detailing his two-year relationship with another guy named 'Anton' private on FB.

Watching the video, it appeared to me that Kevin isn't quite ready yet to let the whole world - especially his father - know that he is gay and that he is currently in love with another man.

However, after spending some time alone and seeing photos of himself together with his loving partner, Kevin decides to finally accept his dad as friend on the social networking site.

He then sends a text message to his father saying 'Dad, inaccept na kita.'

His dad's short but heart-tugging reply to the SMS elevates the concept of acceptance to a whole new level and - in my eyes - it's what makes this commercial one of the best and most meaningful ads that has ever been shown in the Philippines.

Watch the entire video ad here:


Within just two days following its break on Faceboook, the video was able to get almost 1.2 Million views and more than 65,000 shares and likes combined -- making it easily one of the most successful social media campaigns by a Filipino brand this year.

On top of that, the ad was praised by many Pinoy netizens for its heartfelt and empowering message, challenging all of us to break down barriers and overcome our differences.

Here are just a handful of the thousands of social media posts by Filipinos on Facebook and Twitter about this meaningful and powerful video commercial by Smart Communications:





























Kudos to Smart for this amazing ad!

I know I've already said this on Facebook and Twitter but allow me to write this here again: 'Watching this powerful video ad from Smart makes me feel all the more proud to be a Smart Ambassador'. I couldn't be happier to be associated with a company that supports and upholds love in all its forms.