Apple marks ‘first of its kind’ ad partnership with EE

While other operators and brands have shown Apple products in their ads on TV before, EE’s latest ads mark the first time the product in question has been live rather than static.

The TV push, which first aired on ITV last night (17 July), shows the actor continuing the “six degrees of Kevin Bacon” logic game narrative and swiping through an iPhone 5 to highlight the benefits of 4G.

The ad also features Bacon face-timing his wife, US actress Kyra Sedgwick, to further demonstrate the benefits of EE’s 4G mobile internet speeds and to promote the iPhone 5’s functionality.

The partnership further emphasises EE’s first-to-market advantage in launching a 4G network in the UK, by stating it is the “biggest and fastest” overall network.

It also offers Apple a boost in exposure for the iPhone 5 at a time when it is in a traditionally more quiet marketing period as it gears up for the launch of its next hero smartphone, which is likely to be in September.

In April Apple posted its first annual profit decline in over a decade and a 20 per cent slump in quarterly revenue as its advertising efforts to woo first-time users hit margins. 

The EE TV ads, which are also being supported in press, outdoor and in-store, were created by Saatchi & Saatchi, while MEC handled media buying. Additional creative for the summer campaign will launch later this month and in August, when rival operators are set to roll out their own 4G services.