MANILA, JULY 3, 2013 – Dm9 JaymeSyfu CEO Merlee Jayme was enthusiastic for the future of the Philippine advertising industry as she spoke with adobo magazine about her agency’s Grand Prix win – the country’s first-ever – in Mobile for their work on ‘Smart Txtbks’ for Smart Communications in the recently concluded Cannes International Festival of Creativity.
Speaking at the DM9 offices in Manila, Jayme shared that, while her team had been hopeful for a metal win, being awarded the Grand Prix was far beyond their wildest dreams. She went on to describe the resulting euphoria as being the not just because of the win, but the industry “unity” it engendered.
The overwhelming success of ‘Txtbks’ could be traced to its ingenious use of existing, obsolete technology to solve the very current problem of schoolchildren carrying numerous heavy textbooks to school every day.
The solution? To encode condensed versions of official textbooks into the memory of discarded sim cards, enabling the children to access their lessons via older cell phones. Where other countries have been making the move towards e-readers and tablets, ‘Txtbks’ gives even the underprivileged children in developing countries reliable digital access to their lessons.
Senator Manny Villar, Chairperson of the Committee for Economic Affairs lauded the initiative, saying that it was the perfect start towards a day when every Filipino child would have a tablet.
“The feeling of unity that this win has created is just incredible. It shows the local industry and the world that the Philippines can do it, that the Philippines can win.”
