Kevin Bacon stumps game show presenters in spoof quiz for EE campaign

Kevin Bacon turns the tables on game show hosts Rachel Riley and Stephen Fry in a spoof quiz for EE's latest brand campaign.

The first of two campaign ads features Riley, a co-presenter of Channel 4 game show Countdown, who is famed for her maths prowess.

Riley tries and fails to use complex formulas to answer Bacon’s puzzler: why would consumers choose to be on a rival mobile network when EE’s 4G network is 50 per cent faster than O2, Vodafone and Three?

Under pressure, Riley’s final answer is "exactly nothing", to which Bacon replies: "Exactly Rach! Choose the network that’s 50 per cent faster, it’s a no brainer Britain."

It is the first in a two-part video series, created by Saatchi & Saatchi London. MEC bought and planned the media.

The second ad will feature Stephen Fry, the actor and presenter of BBC2 quiz show QI, who is asked to find a word that sums up why anyone would choose a slower network than EE.

Bacon inexplicably also plays a secondary cameo role as an audience member in both ads, donning comedy wigs and glasses.

Rob Potts and Andy Jex, the joint executive creative directors at Saatchi & Saatchi London, and Adam Chiappe, a creative director at the agency, created the campaign. The films were directed by Hank Perlman through Hungry Man.

The first ad, featuring Riley, breaks on TV today during Gogglebox on Channel 4. The campaign will also run across print, social and out of home.

Spencer McHugh, the director of brand at EE, said: "We know consumers are using more data than ever and relying on superfast network speeds to download more quickly and stream with better reliability and quality. 

"Given recent tests have proven our network to be 50 per cent faster than our competitors, we can’t understand why anyone would choose to be on a slower network. We wanted to illustrate this using some well-known TV geniuses and we’re delighted that Rachel and Stephen are on board to help us get that message across."

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