Smart and DM9’s Campaign, which literally lightens the load of public school students, bagged for the Philippines our first ever Grand Prix at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, considered in the industry as the Oscars of advertising. The initiative, Smart Txtbks, lead by DM9JaymeSyfu and Smart Communications Inc., beat a hundred other entries in the mobile category of the 60th Cannes Lions, beating out submissions from global names such as Adidas, Google ,McDonald’s and Nike.
The project involved the conversion of textbooks and workbooks into content that could be packaged into SIM cards, and could be read by public school children using readily-available mobile phones. This took the place of the volumes of heavy books that they would normally have to carry on their backs, for kilometers on end, in some cases. This keeps them away from the potential for physical injury and long-lasting physical deformity.
This lightened the bags of participating students by up to 50%, student attendance was at an all-time high 95%, and average performance was at 90%.
“Smart Txtbks is relevant in a country where the majority of the people still use feature phones, and where many families cannot afford e-book readers and tablets. We are happy that our partnership with DM9 has brought pride to the country, and has helped make learning easier for thousands o Filipino children,” said Smart Public Affairs Head Ramon Isberto.
This year, Cannes Lions received more than 35,000 entries from 92 countries. Winners were recently announced in Cannes, France.