Everything We Know About The Making Of The Hyun Bin, Son Ye-Jin Smart TVC

There was a snowstorm when this TVC was filmed.

Hyun Bin and Son Ye-jin signed their contracts with Smart in December last year. That same month, the storyboard for their joint TVC was prepared. In just about a month thereafter, the TVC was filmed in January 12. Smart's Jane Basas shares, "We started the shoot at around 10 and then si Son Ye-jin was a little bit late because she was stuck during the snowstorm. She came in at around 10:45. So when she joined Hyun Bin, we shot the scenes that they were together first."

Hyun Bin revealed that they had to shoot in the middle of a snowstorm in January, saying, “I remember it snowed a lot on the day of the shoot. Thanks to that, the shooting was fun despite the cold weather.”

The released joint TVC is kilig x1000, but wait, there's more!

The release of the joint Smart TVC couldn't have come at a better timing, because the rumor about their romantic relationship turned out to be true. Media outlet Dispatch revealed on January 1 that the two are a couple, a breaking news that was immediately followed by confirmations from Hyun Bin's and Son Ye-jin's managements. Knowing that they're indeed together made watching their Smart TVC more kilig and enjoyable. But apparently, that's just part 1.

Photo Credit: Read about the breaking news on Hyun Bin and Son Ye-jin's relationship here.

Jane Basas reveals, "The scenes that you saw in the first commercial is not the complete scene, so there's going to be a part 2 where they're going to be together end to end. So it's even more kilig than TVC 1."

Hyun Bin and Son Ye-jin shot their Smart campaign for two days.

The shoot for the actual TVC happened in January 12 in Seoul. The two reunited in January 22 to do audio recordings and the photo shoot.

On working with Smart for a second campaign, Son Ye-jin says, "I am so happy to be with Smart for the second time. It's a lot easier because we worked with the same team... And I am so excited to see more wonderful advertisements."

A visit to the Philippines is a part of their Smart contract!

Hyun Bin and Son Ye-jin have individual contracts with Smart, when their solo TVCs were launched. But Smart renewed their contracts even before their first ones ended, and a visit to the Philippines is a part of the deal!

"This particular TVC, which is the joint TVC, is actually a part of a second contract already," Jane Basas shares. "We decided to renew them early simply because we wanted to deliver the promise of the two of them together in one campaign. That had to be covered by a separate contract. So the question as to whether we would see them again in the future in another campaign, it depends on their schedules. They're very busy, but what I can promise is they still owe us a visit to the Philippines, so I'm hoping everything normalizes, because as a fan, I'd love to see them here."

In the meantime, though, fans can look forward to a live online event with the couple.

Because of the pandemic as well as the travel restrictions and the quarantine rules that come with it, Hyun Bin and Son Ye-jin can't visit the Philippines just yet. But knowing that that will inevitably happen is enough to hold onto for now. In the meantime, what's feasible is a fanmeet done virtually.

"In the meantime, what we're trying to fix is a live online event. Whether they're there separately or together, that's something that we still have to fix in the next few weeks," Jane Basas reveals.

Hyun Bin and Son Ye-jin can't wait to meet their Filipino fans.

In a Smart-exclusive video interview, the two expressed how excited they are to not only personally meet the suppliers they worked with for this campaign but to also connect with their Filipino fans. Hyun Bin says, "Hello. This is Hyun Bin. I have been given another chance to meet you all through Smart's new campaign video. I hope that you'll continue to support Smart and me. I wish you a Happy New Year. Please keep yourselves healthy and warm this year."

Son Ye-jin, on the other hand, leaves this message: "I may not be able to meet you all in person but I’m very happy that I can greet you through this video. Last year was a difficult year for everyone. I sincerely hope you become happier this year. I hope to see you soon. Stay healthy until then."

This joint Smart TVC also shines the spotlight on local band Ben&Ben.

Like how having Hyun Bin and Son Ye-jin together in a TVC wasn't part of Smart's original plans (but one that inevitably happened and which they're extremely grateful for), the idea of having Filipino folk pop/pop rock band Ben&Ben compose an original song for the TVC was a lightbulb moment that came later on in the creative process of putting this project together. Their original song, "Inevitable," served as the soundtrack and musical scoring of the TVC, and it proved to be a perfect fit, both lyrics- and tune-wise, for the romantic sci-fi TVC.

On the story behind the collaboration with Ben&Ben, Jane Basas shares, "Ben&Ben was never really part of the original plan, but we were on our way to meet them, and we were playing Spotify and then 'Leaves' just played on radio. And then I had this big idea na what if a Filipino band, what if Ben&Ben sang a song, prepare the music and score for the commercial? And even that was meant to be."

"Inevitable" is, at its core, a song about fate.

How this joint TVC materialized is nothing short of amazing, and it was fate that led everything to come together beautifully. Fate also played a huge role in the love story of Hyun Bin's and Son Ye-jin's "Crash Landing on You" characters Captain Ri Jeong-hyeok and Yoon Se-ri. Fate brought the BinJin couple together in real life. Fate paved the way for this romantic TVC trilogy to happen. And as the Smart chapter is woven seamlessly into the K-drama-like narrative of Hyun Bin and Son Ye-jin's love story, there needs to be an OST to complete the romantic, dreamy mood of it all. And "Inevitable" does that, and even inspires with its lyrics.

In an official statement released by Sony Music Phils, lead singer Paolo Benjamin said, "'Inevitable' is a song that tries to describe the nature of fate, and how all our actions somehow lead us to some better place that is destined for us. It's also a song about being real with someone, and that no matter how scary that may seem at times, there is freedom in baring your truest nature with someone dear to you, even if that someone is yourself."

This joint Smart TVC is special in more ways than one.

"We were just really lucky. It was perfect timing," Jane Basas says, commenting on how the TVC was serendipitously released just a little more than a month after Hyun Bin and Son Ye-jin confirmed their relationship. (Fun fact: the Smart TVC was released last February 14 and the last episode of "Crash Landing on You" aired around the same time last year in February 16.) Not only is their TVC an offshoot of the phenomenal success of their K-drama, it also marks the first time they worked on an endorsement together.

The BinJin couple first worked with each other in the 2018 movie "The Negotiation" then, of course, 2019's "Crash Landing on You." Son Ye-jin did have a cameo, too, in the Hyun Bin starrer K-drama "Secret Garden," but they didn't have a scene together. Hyun Bin has two movies coming up, "Bargaining" and "Confidential Assignment 2," while Son Ye-jin is set to star in the Hollywood film "Cross."

There are "Crash Landing on You" elements in the TVC.

The TVC featured several snippets of memorable "Crash Landing on You" scenes showing Capt. Ri and Yoon Se-ri. This is to basically show how Smart's 5G, the latest evolution in wireless communications, offers superfast data speeds and fiber-like low latency, which enable users to upload and download heavy files in seconds, stream high-resolution videos seamlessly, play online games without noticeable lag, and benefit from other cutting-edge apps and services on their smartphone with fiber-like speeds.

But this particular scene where Hyun Bin raised his arm while holding the phone up was inspired by that famous scented candle scene in "Crash Landing on You." Jane Basas shares, "That scene where he put his arm up and used his 5G phone to find Son Ye-jin was actually inspired by the scene in CLOY where Capt. Ri used the scented candle to guide Yoon Se-ri towards him. But more than the parallelism in the TVC and CLOY, I'm so kilig to actually think about the kind of work that happened in these three campaigns and how that actually represents the kind of work that you need to put to find love. I know it's cheesy but it is a love story. What we went through is a love story, and I hope everybody finds it the way these people did."

The Smart Communications, Inc. team and the people behind their agency, Grey Philippines, had a chance to meet Hyun Bin and Son Ye-jin virtually via Zoom.