Media News: Iceland seals tie-up with I'm a Celebrity

by Gemma Charles, Marketing 25-Oct-06

Iceland has replaced First Choice as the sponsor of ITV show I'm a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here.

The deal, negotiated by ITV Sales and MediaCom North, covers broadcast
sponsorship of the show on ITV and ITV2, mobile clips on ITV's WAP
portal, as well as online and off-screen licensing. TV idents have been

created by the frozen-food retailer's agency, Tom Reddy Advertising.

The latest series of the 10-week show starts next month. Last year it
drew an average audience of 9.6m, with the final episode, in which Carol
Thatcher was crowned 'Queen of the Jungle', attracting 13m viewers - a
54% share of the audience. The viewing figures for the series were up 9%
on 2004.

Along with The X Factor, I'm a Celebrity will be one of ITV's flagship
entertainment programmes in the run-up to Christmas.

Paul Gibbons, director of MediaCom North, described the fit between
Iceland and I'm a Celebrity as 'superb'. He cited TGI research, which
showed Iceland shoppers ranked the programme as their favourite.

Kerry Katona, who fronts Iceland's ad campaign, is a previous winner of
the show, which is presented by Ant and Dec.

First Choice had sponsored four series of the programme. Last year, the
tour operator used the sponsorship idents to promote its long-haul
flights. The idents' design was investigated by Ofcom, following
concerns that they crossed the line between sponsorship and advertising.