‘Son’ gives SMS new meaning

Telecommunications manager Jose Rosete had a good buddy from whom he was inseparable since grade school. Even after they started their own families, they remained close, with one keeping the other company in the hospital while awaiting the birth of his firstborn.

Then his buddy passed away. Coming home from the first night of the wake, Jose sat in the driveway till daybreak, overwhelmed by the heaviness in his heart and unable to comprehend what had just transpired.

Instinctively, he took out his cellphone and composed a text message, then sent it to his buddy’s number: "See you on the other side, brother, be it darkness or light."

Throughout the ages, people have conveyed their sentiments to lost loved ones in various ways – offering prayers, bringing flowers to their gravesites, speaking to their photographs, writing letters, or simply keeping them in their thoughts.

Jose said goodbye in the language of the times, in the medium of this generation.

Texting is just another means of self-expression, and sending messages to the departed is a way of conveying thoughts, especially those that were not expressed when the person was still around, according to a clinical psychologist. It is a form of catharsis, a means to let out innermost feelings without inhibition or guilt, thus relieving the message sender of tension and stress. It is also a productive and healthy way of going through the process of grief.

Jose soon met or heard of officemates and subscribers who had a similar experience. Their stories are what inspired Smart’s latest TV ad, titled "Son."

In the 45-second ad, a young professional rejoices at receiving praise from his boss, experiences heartbreak when he and his girlfriend part ways and feels helpless when his younger sister comes home late without offering an explanation.

He seeks moral support the only way he has always known, by confiding in his mother, who is now gone. With her photo before him, he takes out his cellphone and sends her a text message.

While brainstorming on the ad concept, the people at DM9 JaymeSyfu, the agency that produced the ad, heard one more similar story, contributed by one of their art directors. "He said he found a way of coping with his sister’s sudden death by texting her throughout the period of mourning," recalled Merlee Cruz-Jayme DM9’s chief creative officer.

Thinking at first that his story was better not shared with others, Merlee said they soon realized that "a lot of people could relate to it." She said that it seems men have a tougher time coping with death, unlike women who let it all out in tears. "Thus the cellphone takes on a special role," she added.

Her team did not merely create a story, they recounted one that’s familiar to many. The TV ad is directed by Jun Reyes, who also chose newcomer Michael Alfonso to play the lead character. Director of photography is Lee Meilly. Others from DM9 JaymeSyfu who worked on the ad are creative director Eugene Demata and art director Mike Calaquian.

The corporate ad is the first in a new line that seeks to highlight how Smart has become an integral part of the lives of its subscribers, said Ramon Isberto, public affairs group head.

"Our cellphones are our constant companions; they take on whatever role we assign to them, not just through their features, the products and services we are able to access through them, or the quality of the network’s service. We attach emotional significance to our phones. This is a rather unique manifestation of the kind of individual personal investment that we make in our phones," he said.

The language and the medium will continue to change over time, but communication is what will always enable people to remain connected forever, even in the afterlife.