The noughties are back, and we’re so here for it, as EE, the UK’s largest subscription business, and British rock band, Bloc Party, team up to release EE’s new advert Freedom as the new official music video for the band’s iconic 2005 track, So Here We Are, reminding the nation how it really feels to be a teenager.
Noughties favourite Bloc Party, who are about to kick off a new headline tour, have landed back on the map thanks to a new national brand campaign from EE. The campaign celebrates a new era for EE and includes the television commercial Freedom, which beautifully portrays the experiences and challenges of modern-day teenagers, set to the iconic track.
Landing today on Spotify as the track’s official canvas and across YouTube and social, the advert now operates as a music video, with the original edit updated to close on new text: ‘Bloc Party x EE 2023‘. Bloc Party has also re-added So Here We Are to its live set list, which will play out as part of the band’s upcoming tour of Australia, starting on 10th November in Perth.
Created by EE’s partner Saatchi & Saatchi, the advert sensitively depicts the modern teenage experience – from that feeling of freedom felt up and down the country as the final school bell rings, to the multitude of ways young people are using technology during this daily window of time, including the challenges faced. Using real people rather than actors, the portrayal of the lived experience of young people in 2023 is accompanied by So Here We Are, a track many modern-day parents will associate with their own teenage years.
Kele Okereke, Lead Singer of Bloc Party, says, “When we released So Here We Are back in 2005 it was our biggest single so far, so for it to find a new audience 18 years later with the advert and this beautiful new video is really exciting and I think quite unique.“
Kelly Engstrom, Brand & Demand Generation Communications Director, EE says, “We are delighted that Bloc Party is using our film Freedom as the official music video for So Here We Are. As part of new EE’s ambition to be the most personal, customer-focused technology brand, Freedom uses real people to portray the real-life experiences and challenges of teenage life. Set to Bloc Party’s iconic track, the film will resonate with people of all ages up and down the country as they reflect on their teenage years”.
After over a decade spent as the UK’s biggest and fastest mobile network with UK market leading full fibre broadband, EE is broadening its horizons from traditional telecommunications services and transforming this household brand ready for a new and exciting era as the UK’s largest subscription business.
On a mission to be the UK’s most personal, customer focused technology brand, EE has rebuilt its business from inside out based on the current and future needs of its customers. Following extensive customer research, the four focus areas for new EE will be game, home, learn and work, and a suite of exciting products and services open to all UK consumers have been developed to improve customers’ everyday lives in these areas, all underpinned by UK market leading products EE 5G and EE Full Fibre. This shift is the next step on EE’s journey to becoming the lead consumer brand for BT Group.
To watch the new music video for So Here We Are, visit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RL6HnCeDcvU