Lambrini Makes A Date With ITV

Granada has secured Lambrini as the £1m sponsor for the new ITV1 dating show Mr Right.

The new show will see ‘Mr Right’ select a group of eligible women and over a number of weeks viewers will decide which one would make an ideal match. Lambrini, known as the drink for “girls who want to have fun”, hopes the sponsorship will help the brand reach its key, 18 to 24 year-old female consumers.

Richard Clark, marketing manager for Lambrini, said: “We were looking at TV sponsorship as the next step in our communications programme and were extremely excited by the opportunity to get involved with Mr Right. We’re certain the mix of reality TV and romance will be a winner with our target audience and are confident Mr Right is going to be one of the most watched, and most talked about shows of the autumn.”

The sponsorship deal was negotiated by Katherine Bettel at Granada Enterprises and Paul Gibbon at Mediacom North.

ITV’s flagship dating show Blind Date, which has undergone a dramatic re-vamp, will also be part of the autumn schedule, although speculation that long-term host, Cilla Black, is to be replaced, has been strongly denied.

Mr Right is not the first time ITV has attempted to capitalise on the success of Blind Date, the channel’s recent foray into the genre, Elimidate, was widely considered a flop and it has been reported that Kevin Lygo, director of programmes at Channel 5 ridiculed the show at the recent Edinburgh Television Festival.

ITV: 020 7843 8000 www.itv.com

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