EE Revives Bloc Party Hit for new hero film 'Freedom'

EE and British rock band, Bloc Party, have teamed up to release the brand's new TVC, Freedom, as the new official music video for the band’s iconic 2005 track, So Here We Are. This follows the launch of new EE earlier this month, which was revealed in a multi-channel campaign showcasing how EE will help to elevate the everyday in four key focus areas: home, work, learn and game.

Landing today on Spotify as the track’s official canvas and across YouTube and social, the advert – portraying the experiences and challenges of modern-day teenagers and set to Bloc Party’s well-loved track – now operates as a music video, with the original edit updated to close on new text: ‘Bloc Party x EE 2023’.

Following the release of EE’s TVC Freedom, 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 Saatchi & Saatchi, Freedom is one of three hero films at the centre of EE’s extensive brand campaign launching new EE, which was delivered by a cross-agency team at EE’s long term creative partner, Publicis Groupe UK.

The film 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 brand campaign, which portrays 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, highlighting the power of music to speak to different groups of consumers.

The film also highlights an opportunity for the UK to discover all that EE Learn has to offer. Alongside the film, new EE features a learning tool partnership with Calm, and bespoke DOOH, OOH, print and social executions.

Kele Okereke, Lead Singer, 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, while also highlighting new EE’s commitment to providing learning tools for all”.

Will John, Executive Creative Director, Saatchi & Saatchi says, “We wanted these EE films to feel like music videos, with the music driving the narrative and emotional journey of each and every one, creating a mixtape of Modern Britain. To then have the ‘Freedom’ ad actually evolve into an official music video is amazing.

What’s so powerful about it is that it holds a mirror up to teenage life - and anyone can see themselves in it. People will identify with it through their own childhood memories of growing up as a kid; they’ll identify with it if they’re at that stage of their lives right now; or if they’ve got kids living through that age too. And the track is key to that. This iconic anthem from 2005 helps bring parents and older viewers along on this emotional journey too, in what is a recognition of the thrills, spills and struggles of teenage life today.”

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.