Channel 4 Bags Toyota For Teachers Sponsorship

Channel 4 has secured Toyota as the six-figure broadcast sponsor of the new series of comedy drama, Teachers, which returns to the channel for its fourth run next week.

The deal, which will promote Toyota’s new Rav4 model, marks the first sponsorship by the car manufacturer since it cut short its partnership with ITV’s coverage of Formula One earlier this year following a dispute over viewing figures.

The sponsorship begins with the new series of Teachers on 26 October and covers nine 60-minute episodes and a one-off Christmas special. A series of idents have been created by Saatchi & Saatchi and feature a Rav4 in the classroom mirroring the actions of a group of ‘cheeky’ school children.

Commenting on the deal, which is thought to be worth around £750,000, Toyota’s marketing director, Matt Harrison, said: “Teachers is a perfect fit for the Rav4 brand, which has always had a rebellious and slightly unconventional positioning.”

Teachers has performed well for Channel 4 over the last three years and regularly attracts an average of around 2 million viewers in its 10pm slot. The series follows the lives of a group of ‘perpetually juvenile’ teachers from Summerdown Comprehensive as they struggle to cope with their jobs.

Last October Toyota decided to pull-out of its £25 million sponsorship of ITV’s Formula One programming two years early. The Daily Telegraph has since taken over the sponsorship in a last minute deal thought to be worth significantly less than the amount paid by the Japanese car manufacturer (see ITV In Poll Position With Formula One Sponsorship).

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