TNT Wins Gold at SMARTIES Philippines with Ed Caluag Ghost-Hunting Campaign

TNT's collaboration with paranormal investigator Ed Caluag earned Gold at SMARTIES Philippines. Accepting the award are (from left) Carlo De Leon, SVP, Client Solutions at WPP Media Philippines; DJ Imbat, Senior Manager, Planning at WPP Media Philippines; and Raymond Anthony T. Samarista, VP for Marketing Services Operations at Smart; alongside SMARTIES Philippines juror Paul Debaprateem, Managing Director and President of Sodexo Philippines.

• Gold Award: TNT won Gold in the Creator/Influencer/Celebrity Marketing (Impact Marketing) category at SMARTIES Philippines for its creative network campaign.
• Ed Caluag Collaboration: The campaign featured paranormal investigator Ed Caluag in a humorous ghost-hunting story that demonstrated the importance of low mobile network latency.
• Massive Digital Reach: The campaign generated over 659 million impressions across digital platforms, highlighting the power of entertaining, creator-led marketing.

TNT, the value brand of Smart Communications, Inc. (Smart), has earned another major recognition in the Philippine advertising industry after winning a Gold Award at SMARTIES Philippines for its creative collaboration with popular paranormal investigator and content creator Ed Caluag.

The award recognizes TNT's innovative approach to communicating the benefits of its mobile network through humor, entertainment, and relatable storytelling. Instead of relying on technical explanations about connectivity, the brand brought an everyday mobile frustration into the supernatural world, creating a campaign that resonated with Filipino audiences.

Turning Network Lag Into a Ghost-Hunting Comedy

Launched in February 2026, the award-winning campaign was developed in partnership with Ace Saatchi & Saatchi, with Wavemaker Philippines – WPP Media serving as the media agency. It featured Ed Caluag, whose paranormal investigations and ghost-hunting adventures have attracted a following on social media.

The campaign's premise was simple but clever: What if ghosts themselves became frustrated because of mobile network lag?

In the promotional video, Ed explores a haunted house while livestreaming his paranormal investigation. However, his encounters with supernatural entities are repeatedly disrupted by frustrating network delays. Eventually, the ghosts become so annoyed that they turn the tables on the investigator, resulting in an amusing series of encounters.

By incorporating comedy into Ed's familiar ghost-hunting format, TNT transformed the technical concept of mobile latency into something entertaining and easy to understand.

Highlighting TNT's Low-Latency Network

Behind the campaign's humorous execution was a serious message about mobile network performance.

The creative concept was inspired by TNT's recognition for Best Mobile Latency in the Philippines at the Ookla Speedtest Awards. Low latency refers to the short delay between sending and receiving data over a network, which is particularly important for livestreaming, online gaming, video calls, and other real-time activities.

Rather than presenting figures and technical measurements, TNT demonstrated the importance of responsive connectivity through a fictional situation that viewers could immediately appreciate.

Lloyd R. Manaloto, FVP and OIC for Smart, explained the thinking behind the campaign:

“This recognition reflects how we continue to find fresh and engaging ways to bring TNT’s brand promise to life. 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.”

Campaign Generates Over 659 Million Impressions

The campaign initially premiered on Ed Caluag's own digital platforms before receiving wider distribution through Meta, Google, YouTube, and TikTok.

According to TNT, the campaign generated more than 659 million impressions, demonstrating its extensive exposure among digitally connected Filipino consumers. This figure represents impressions rather than unique viewers, but it nevertheless highlights the campaign's substantial online visibility.

TNT's award-winning collaboration with paranormal investigator Ed Caluag brings humor to the frustrating experience of mobile network lag. Watch the campaign video on YouTube.

The campaign also demonstrates how brands can work with content creators beyond traditional product endorsements. By incorporating TNT's network message into Ed's established content style, the collaboration maintained an entertaining approach while communicating a practical consumer benefit.

TNT Strengthens Its Brand Through Creative Marketing

The SMARTIES Philippines Gold Award adds to TNT's growing portfolio of campaigns that combine its youthful, playful personality with messages about connectivity and mobile services.

SMARTIES Philippines recognizes marketing initiatives that demonstrate creativity, effectiveness, and measurable business impact. TNT's recognition in the Creator/Influencer/Celebrity Marketing category underscores the potential of creator partnerships to communicate even relatively technical product advantages.

The achievement also comes as TNT and Smart continue expanding their 5G network across the Philippines. Smart recently received the Best Mobile Video Experience award in the Philippines from Ookla, further highlighting its network performance in video-related activities.

For TNT, the recognition shows that communicating network advantages does not always require complicated technical presentations. Sometimes, an entertaining story involving a paranormal investigator, impatient ghosts, and a frustrating livestream can make the message far more memorable -- and in this particular ghost story, the biggest scare wasn't a supernatural encounter. It was mobile network lag.