One Green Bean Translates Dickens into Teen Slang for Tesco Mobile's Safe Start Launch

One Green Bean, the Havas-owned PR and social agency, has developed and launched a nationwide PR and social campaign for Tesco Mobile tackling the growing 'slang barrier' between parents and children, translating Charles Dickens’ classic novel Great Expectations into the language of today’s teenagers, renamed ‘Bare Expectations’ and fronted by Kurupt FM’s MC Grindah.

The strategy and creative were driven by an insight identified by One Green Bean. As thousands of children prepare to start secondary school and receive their first mobile phones, parents anxiety extends beyond screen time to a more fundamental problem - they simply can’t understand what they children are saying.

New research for the campaign reveals a growing slang barrier between parents and their children, with more than half (53%) feeling confused by their child's language at least once a week, while an overwhelming 84% say the pace at which teen language evolves makes it harder to understand their children. The most concerning finding is that half (57%) of parents say deciphering their child’s communication makes it harder to recognise when something could be wrong or spot potential risks online.

In response, One Green Bean built an earned-first approach and partnered with Chloe Combi - author, researcher and one of the world’s foremost experts on generation z and generation a - to translate Charles Dickens' classic novel Great Expectations into teen speak, helping parents better understand their children’s world through a familiar story. Produced as an audiobook, the adaptation ‘Bare Expectations’ uses terms including 'no cap', 'rizz', 'skibidi', 'mewing' and 'brain rot', creating an accessible way into a more serious conversation about understanding young people’s digital worlds.

The campaign highlights that while every generation has developed its own way of communicating, today's online vernacular evolves faster than ever and if we can keep up with this evolving language, we can then help bridge the gap between parents and children and navigate the digital world together, helping to keep children safer online.

To bring ‘Bare Expectations’ to life in a culturally relevant way and maximise earned cut-through, One Green Bean teamed up with Kurupt FM’s MC Grindah who was invited to a youth centre in London to give a reading of Bare Expectations to local parents and teens. The self-proclaimed 'best MC in the galaxy' found himself learning new, unfamiliar words highlighting how quickly digital language evolves across generations.

Bare Expectations, has been launched alongside Tesco Mobile’s new Safe Start offering – a guided phone-readiness experience, designed to help parents feel more confident their child’s phone is safe set up correctly and ready for day one.

Georgie Quayle, associate business director at One Green Bean, said, “While every generation develops its own slang, social media has dramatically accelerated how quickly young people's language evolves. We saw a unique opportunity to turn a universally familiar book on its head, using Dickens to powerfully dramatise the linguistic divide between parents and their children. 'Bare Expectations' provided a playful, culturally relevant way to tackle a serious online safety topic without lecturing families, ultimately helping Tesco Mobile encourage more confident conversations as parents and children navigate getting their first phone.”

Chloe Combi, Tesco Mobile’s youth language expert, said, “Teen slang has always existed, but today’s language is evolving at a pace we’ve never seen before. A word or phrase can emerge as a social media craze one day and become everyday language the next. Bare Expectations is a fun way of showing just how much communication has evolved by taking a story parents already know and translating into the language many of them don’t, helping them to better understand their children’s world and start more confident conversations.”

Allan Mustafa, a.k.a MC Grindah from Kurupt FM, said, “You’d think the best MC in the galaxy would know all the latest slang, and I do. If any kid tells you otherwise, they’re lying. Any words I don’t know are just not cool enough for me to care about! Bare Expectations was a great way for me to share my slang knowledge and if that ends up getting families talking and helping parents understand what their kids are actually saying, then you’re welcome.”

​Laura Joseph, chief customer officer at Tesco Mobile, said, “Parents don't need to speak their children's language to help keep them safe online, but they do need the confidence to start the conversation. With many parents telling us that teen slang and rapidly changing online trends can make it harder to spot potential issues, Safe Start is designed to help bridge that gap. By combining expert online safety guidance with AI-powered social media monitoring through Sway.ly, we're giving families practical tools to better understand the digital world young people are navigating every day and support safer online experiences."

Tesco Mobile has recorded 'Bare Expectations' available to listen to for free on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. The audiobook offers an entertaining and practical guide to understanding the language young people use today, helping parents spot potential warning signs and keep their children safer online.