A great year for Netphone stars Sam Pinto and the Azkals

CEBU, Philippines - We are already in the last quarter of 2011 and by now, we can see celebrities who stand a chance to claim this year to be their own.

In the showbiz realm, 2011 saw the rise of Sam Pinto. Once an occasional model and reality show contestant, Sam is now one of the most recognizable faces on television. With a growing number of endorsements, TV and movie appearances, plus her being hailed as the Philippines’ sexiest, Sam’s star could only shine brighter in the years to come.

And who could ignore the 2011 journey of the country’s newest sports superstars – the Azkals? The national football team not only fueled the country’s interest in the sport, but also brought honor and pride to the country. For the first time, the Philippines saw its team fighting its way up to Asia’s second qualifying round for the World Cup.

Sam and Team Azkals both became breakthrough stars this year in the world of showbusiness and sports, respectively. Recently, they were chosen by leading wireless services provider Smart Communications, Inc. (Smart) to be the faces of another proudly-Pinoy breakthrough – a world-first in terms of smartphone innovation, the Netphone.

Their TV commercial for Netphone shows Azkals Aly Borromeo, Anton Del Rosario, Angel Guirado, Chieffy Caligdong, Nate Burkey and Ian Araneta competing in a football match while chatting with each other – and Sam - through the Netphone. This demonstrates how the Netphone allows one to share, chat and update NOW, making it the perfect device for those who belong to the NOW generation – like the endorsers themselves. Sam and the Azkals are active on Twitter, and if you follow their accounts, you’ll see them frequently exchange messages through their Netphones.

“Both team Azkals and Sam were very excited to do the TVC,” said Merlee Jayme, Chief Creative Officer at DM9JaymeSyfu, the agency behind the TVC.

Shot in two days with director Franco Marinelli at the helm, Day 1 saw the Azkals shooting their “stunts” including Chieffy’s recognizable scissor kick – one of the TVC’s highlights. The shoot of course went smoothly and naturally, as the players did their own football moves for the camera.

“The Azkals were very good actors actually,” said Creative Director Louie Sotto. “I think that’s because the board had them in their element.”

Sam Pinto, the Netphone girl said she’s happy to be part of the launch of the product.

“Most of the time I’m out, so I use my phone to update my fans in whatever I’m doing, so that they can be connected with me”, said Sam. With Netphone’s Smartnet feature that allows users to post, chat and update for free, she said she “can Tweet every single second.”

With these victories, career boosts and a TVC for an extraordinary innovation, it looks like this year is the right time for Sam and the Azkals to stand up and shout, “Goal!”

Watch Sam, Aly, Anton, Chieffy and Neil talk about staying connected with their fans through Netphone, and catch behind the scenes clips from the Netphone TVC shoot at www.youtube.com/smartcorporate. For more information about the Netphone, go to www.netphone.ph.