4G SIM News4G network provider EE has joined forces with YouTube in a campaign to emphasise the benefits of super-fast broadband when streaming video content online. 4G can provide a far superior video streaming service with less buffering, which is especially important to YouTube given that round 40% of their views in the UK come from mobile devices.
The new video features Kevin Bacon, the well-known celebrity face of EE, in the Food Tube channel studio with our very own Jamie Oliver. The two are going head to head in a contest to create the best Great British bacon sandwich.
Not surprisingly Jamie is off to a flying start, slicing and buttering his bread, and grilling his smoked back bacon to perfection, while Kevin just stands and watches appreciatively. Just when it looks as though Jamie has the contest in the bag he suddenly starts stuttering and buffering as he holds up his finished sandwich.
Kevin has no such problems, because of course he is “all Baconed up to 4G from EE”. He continues to create a sandwich masterpiece in his own time; slicing an enormous loaf of bread with a chainsaw and applying liberal amounts of mayonnaise with a trowel, before piling on lobster, steak, and fried eggs. Slicing tomatoes provide an opportunity for him to try out a little British pronunciation, and then these are heaped on to the sandwich along with a handful of pickles.
After a coffee break where he takes a peek in one of Jamie’s cookbooks, he finally tops the filling with delicious crispy bacon, and adds the lid of the loaf. There’s even time for him to sneak a bite of Jamie’s ‘humble and beautiful’ bacon sarnie before the TV chef stops buffering and comes back to life. The line “Bacon don’t buffer” is delivered beautifully by the Hollywood celebrity, who is apparently connected to everyone, and Jamie is left to concede a reasonably gracious defeat.
Spencer McHugh, Director of Brand at EE, believes that the new campaign will engage YouTube viewers and emphasise the exceptional video streaming experience that 4G on EE can provide. He said “The mobile internet speeds and breadth of coverage we offer across the UK remain unrivalled and we’re always looking for innovative ways to communicate the benefits of our network online.”
EE was the first 4G provider in the UK, although it will now face some competition from Vodafone, O2, and eventually Three. It has over one million customers on its 4G network, and provides 4G coverage in 105 UK towns and cities, planning another 15 by the end of the year. In 20 of these it has apparently already doubled the speed of its 4G from an average of 12-15 Mbps to 24-30 Mbps.
Partnering with YouTube to promote the benefits of the 4G network for streaming content is certainly a great way to access audiences who care about video streaming, although how Jamie Oliver fans will react to him being beaten by a Hollywood actor in a bacon sarnie contest is hard to predict.