ITV readies marketing campaign for Jane Austen season

by Alex Donohue, Brand Republic 21-Feb-07, 11:45

LONDON - ITV is to unveil a cross-media marketing campaign to promote its forthcoming Jane Austen Season, which will feature dramatisations of the writer's 'Persuasion', 'Northanger Abbey' and 'Mansfield Park' novels, starring Billie Piper and Michelle Ryan.

The M&C Saatchi-created outdoor ads will be unveiled on February 26 across London to promote the three ITV adaptations. Press ads will appear in The Observer Magazine, Independent on Sunday, the Mail on Sunday's You Magazine and Sunday Times Culture.

Former 'Doctor Who' actress Billie Piper plays the role of Fanny and ex-'EastEnders' actress Michelle Ryan, the role of Maria Bertram in 'Mansfield Park'.

'Northanger Abbey' will star Felicity Jones as protagonist Catherine Morland and JJ Field performs as her suitor Henry Tilney. 'Persuasion' features Sally Hawkins as the lead role Anne Elliot and Rupert Penry-Jones as Captain Wentworth.

An exact date for when the Jane Austen season begins has not yet been confirmed, but it is understood to start early in March.

David Pemsel, group marketing director at ITV, said: "The Jane Austen season is all about taking classic stories and presenting them in a fresh and contemporary light."

The TV and cinema spots for the series were devised by Catherine Farrow at ITV Creative, and media buying was handled by MindShare.

ITV announced in February that it was planning a major period drama in the form of Emily Bronte's classic gothic romance 'Wuthering Heights', which is slated to air late this year or early in 2008.