Cussons Coughs Up Cash For ITV’s Takeaway
The return of Ant and Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway to ITV this autumn will be sponsored by PZ Cussons’ Imperial Leather soap brand, the broadcaster has announced, with the high-rating programme expected to further bolster ITV’s viewing share.
The fourth series of the popular Saturday night variety show was secured by Cussons in a seven-figure sponsorship deal that will see Imperial Leather as the broadcast sponsor on ITV1 and ITV2, as well as on a dedicated microsite on ITV’s website. The deal also included branded trailers and off-screen licensing activity.
ITV promises the biggest names in pop music, more surprises and undercover wind ups from the new series of Takeaway, as well as continuing the show’s established theme of giving one studio audience member the chance to win the contents of a commercial break. The promotion, given the catchphase of ‘Don’t just watch the ads – win them!’, offers contestants the chance to take home anything from cars and holidays to kitchen rolls and carpet cleaner.
The last series of the show delivered an excellent performance for ITV, attracting an average audience of 7.8 million with a 37% share across its six episodes. The programme also delivered a 46% share of 16-34 Adults and a 50% share of Housewives with Children.
Explaining the value of Cussons’ sponsorship deal, Ella Fletcher, senior sponsorship and branded content executive at ITV Sales, said: “This is a great opportunity for Imperial Leather to further build its brand values amongst their key target audience – the family. Ant and Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway appeals to all demographs and offers ‘fun family moments’ for everyone. The show’s vibrant personality fits perfectly with Imperial Leather’s brand essence and the new series promises to be one of the television highlights this autumn.”
ITV will no doubt be hoping for continued success from the show’s latest series, as the broadcaster continues to battle against a dip in its overall viewing share. Earlier this year the TV giant was forced to drop high-profile home makeover show The Block from its prime-time slot after it failed to draw significant numbers of viewers (see ITV Drops Peak-Time Shows To Avoid Viewing Slump).
However, ITV appears to be battling the decline well, attracting over 6 million viewers to its debut of chat show king Michael Parkinson, last weekend, as well as launching Simon Cowell’s latest TV talent contest, X Factor (see Parkinson Gives Boost To ITV’s Saturday Schedule). Both shows are sure to prove long-term audience magnets and could help ITV avoid a £100 million compensation payment to disgruntled advertisers (see ITV Drops Peak-Time Shows To Avoid Viewing Slump).
ITV: 020 7843 8000 www.itv.com
Recent Television Stories from NewsLine ITV Reveals Plans To Launch Range Of New Channels Mind-Numbing Reality Television Comes Under Fire Channel 4 Confirms Intention To Link With BBC
Subscribers can access ten years of media news and analysis in the Archive