Snowdon shave ad proves technology is a cut-throat business
SWALLOWING hard, Welsh star Tom Ellis watches nervously as a robotcontrolled cut-throat razor slowly approaches his foam-covered neck.
He’s perched on a barber’s chair high up on Snowdon’s Pyg Track with only a TV crew and robotic arm for company.
“You sure this is a good idea?” he wonders as the blade begins to remove his lockdown beard. “Because I do need this face.”
The bizarre stunt, in which Tom is shaved remotely by a barber 250 miles away, was filmed for a Saatchi & Saatchi TV advert on behalf of mobile network operator EE.
From his shop in Lonndon, a barber uses motiononcapture technology to control ontrol the robot arm.
The stunt is designed to showcase the abilities of EE’s public 5G network. 5G technology can handle more data than previous mobile networks and may pave the way for innovations such as autonomous vehicles and remote surgery.
Cardiff-born Ellis said: “It’s easy to take mobile connectivity for granted.
“Out of sight, out of mind... that is, until it lets you down.
“Getting shaved by a robotic barber is a pretty extreme way of showcasing the importance of a high-performing network, but I figured someone’s got to put their neck on the line.” Smug Smugly looking on from the com comfort of the barbershop is US actor Kevin Bacon, a lo long-time EE frontman.
Via a video call on a Samsung Galaxy S21 5G, he jovially teases Tom as the blade moves in, asking the Lucifer actor if he a also wants a facial wax.
Kelly Engstrom, an EE bra brand director, said no special e effects were involved. “This really happened,” he said. The one-of-a-kind Robot Barber arm was specifically developed for EE.
It features a fully mechanical hand that grasps the razorblade and mirrors the barber’s gestures.
The result was a clean shave for Tom for the first time in six years.