Connected: Give a New Network a Familiar Human Metaphor

Read the campaign story

EE’s 2012 launch campaign placed Kevin Bacon at the centre of a story about connections. Contemporary production coverage credits Saatchi & Saatchi London and Ringan Ledwidge of Rattling Stick. The work played on Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon, using chains of cultural associations to introduce a communications brand rather than beginning with a technical explanation of mobile infrastructure.

Contemporary creative reporting notes the use of British references within the performer’s explanation. The launch film and subsequent Kevin Bacon-led service expressions are treated as one recurring platform here. The sources document the idea and production roles, not universal coverage, current network speed or a causal effect on subscriber growth. The cultural game is not evidence that every person is literally connected to the actor within a fixed number of steps.

Editorial interpretation: the spokesperson is structurally relevant to the proposition. Removing the performer’s relationship to the cultural game would change the idea, rather than simply reduce its celebrity appeal. That makes the selection different from attaching a famous face to an otherwise complete message. The brand gains a ready-made way to talk about connections, but the audience still needs to understand what kind of service is being introduced.

Editorial interpretation: local references can make an international performer feel situated in the audience’s world. They also create a comprehension test. Some viewers will enjoy the incongruity, while others may miss the reference entirely. A robust execution should remain understandable at both levels. The core explanation needs to survive without detailed entertainment knowledge, with the references supplying additional pleasure rather than essential technical meaning.

Choose a spokesperson whose role advances the idea

Describe what the person contributes beyond recognition. A relevant skill, history or cultural association can give the story a useful structure, but permissions and accurate representation still matter. Do not assume that a public persona authorises any implied endorsement. A small team can test the logic using an original fictional guide before considering a performer. If the concept becomes incomprehensible without fame, examine whether it explains the service or merely depends on borrowed attention.

Use local detail without making it a comprehension gate

Select references that add specificity while keeping the main message clear to people who do not recognise them. Avoid confusing cultural familiarity with demographic membership or personal worth. Test the script with both knowledgeable and unfamiliar viewers, asking them to explain the proposition before discussing whether they enjoyed the jokes. A reference should reward recognition, not make someone feel excluded from understanding the practical offer.

Separate social connection from technical capability

A story about people being connected is a metaphor, not a coverage map, speed test or account of compatibility. Provide accurate service information in the next layer and review the inferences created by the film. Do not let a broad line suggest that every location, device or plan works in the same way. A strong introductory idea should make the technical questions easier to ask, rather than encourage the audience to assume the answers are universally favourable.

A small test for another brief

Proposed adaptation: a fictional neighbourhood tool-sharing directory could use an original illustrated guide to connect three ordinary tasks with the relevant information pages. Compare the association-led story with a direct category list using identical content. Keep all names and availability synthetic, and avoid real social graphs, celebrity likenesses or account creation. Ask adult volunteers to explain what the directory does and where its role stops.

Measure correct category understanding, navigation and unsupported assumptions about universal access. Separate enjoyment of the guide from confidence in actual availability, reliability or technical performance.

Stop if the metaphor implies capabilities not stated in the prototype, requires knowledge of a cultural reference or appears to use a real person’s endorsement without permission.

• Use original, easily understood associations rather than entertainment quotations.
• Provide a plain text route to the same three information pages.
• Include one clearly stated limitation that the story must not obscure.