"First Day"

25 August 2025

60s

Safer mode.

Music's played a much larger role for EE than Kevin Bacon in recent times. Bloc Party, Faithless, Pet Shop Boys, Echo and the Bunnymen… the brand's got taste, for sure. Next on the hit list is 'You're Not Alone' by Olive, which starts with: "In a way, it's all a matter of time/I will not worry for you, you'll be just fine". For parents of teenagers in the smartphone era, however, it's not as simple as that.

Directed with customary flair and attention to detail by Daniel Wolfe, the ad focuses on two secondary pupils each given smartphones on their first day. The girl uses it to take photos of her and her friends, only to become more isolated with each snap; the boy looks at macho gym videos that threaten to push him over the edge. It explains why the parents looked so apprehensive at the start.

The brand's solution is a SIM card that keeps harmful content at bay and usage under control. It's not foolproof—wi-fi opens the doors shut by the network—but the brand's confident Safer SIMs is a step in the right direction. It transforms both the well-cast students, at least, illustrated by school photos that couldn't be more different than the previous ones.

UK

Mobile Phone Networks