CAPTAIN America and the phenomenal BTS have found a formidable foe in Globe.

Smart Communications discovered this the hard way after its extravagant marketing campaign involving the superhero and the glitzy superstars failed to put a dent on Globe’s steel spot as the No. 1 telco.

Globe’s mobile revenues went higher, data usage skyrocketed and more than 10 million subscribers even switched to the company amid Korean superstars BTS, Crash Landing on You sweethearts Hyun Bin and Son Ye Jin and Marvel’s Captain America aka Chris Evans’ dismal efforts to pull Smart up the No. 1 spot and make it a world-class brand.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange recently, Globe reported its net income inched up 27% year-on-year to P23.7 billion in 2021. The Ayala-led firm’s service revenues grew 4% to P151.5 billion by the end of the year, beating 2019 levels by 2%.

For 2021, the telco noted that revenues in the mobile business, accounting for 69% of service revenue, inched up 1% year-on-year to P103.7 billion by year-end. Its subscriber base grew by 13% to 86.8 million in the period.

Its home broadband segment raked in a company record-high P29.4 billion in revenues in 2021, expanding 10% year-on-year. This even surpassed 2019 levels by 35%.

Despite various suggestions on how Smart could have done better, analysts were one in explaining what went horribly wrong.

Their simple analysis: Smart’s marketing teams failed to harness and convert their powerful brand endorsers’ crowd-drawing power into money-making sales.

Apparently, even PLDT bigwigs have noticed the marketing glitches and are changing tack. They are adjusting to Globe’s market dominance.

Their ad campaigns this year are simpler, have touches of humor and are using less glittery influencers. Notably gone are the flamboyant and grand marketing strategies.

Smart has turned to niche marketing in a desperate hope to turn around its marketing fiasco against Globe.