“Another Saturday night and I ain’t got nobody, I got some money ’cause I just got paid, How I wish I had someone to talk to, I’m in an awful way”… If only Sam Cooke had had ITV then all his troubles might have melted away.
Well, that is the message of a new campaign from ITV Creative, which maintains that “electrifying ITV entertainment and Saturday nights go together like Ant and Dec”.
To be fair, you might be left wondering why it needs to big itself up at all if you went by the press release alone, which opens with the claim: “Every weekend, millions of people all over the UK spend their Saturday nights in, with ITV.”
Yet this film is designed as a celebration of this, depicting a houseful of friends, family, neighbours and a few famous faces sharing an “epic night in”.
In the film from Iconoclast UK director Amara Abbas, viewers travel through a bustling family home, watching the excitement grow as everyone gathers to watch their favourite Saturday night shows.
Peppered throughout are nods to ITV’s roster of Saturday night entertainment, a showcase of shows and their celebrity hosts, such as Britain’s Got Talent, The Masked Singer, and The 1% Club.
Set to Jamie xx’s Saturday night anthem Baddy On The Floor, it stars Ant and Dec, Mo Gilligan, Maya Jama, Lee Mack, Alesha Dixon and Holly Willoughby, with one of this season’s characters from The Masked Singer even making a cameo.
Accompanying the launch of the film will be specially designed channel takeovers and a social media campaign featuring ITV stars.
ITV Creative executive creative director Tom Houser seems pretty chuffed with the outcome. He said: “After a long week, there’s nothing better than getting friends and family together on the sofa to shout out answers, guess identities and wail along to some bangers. ITV is THE home of Saturday night, and this film is all about revelling in that.”
ITV Marketing head of marketing campaigns Simon Ricks is equally pleased. He added: “Electrifying ITV entertainment and Saturday nights go together like Ant and Dec. This campaign is a celebration of one of ITV’s superpowers – bringing the nation together for the ultimate shared viewing experience. Our entire ITV ecosystem will get the ‘Saturday Night’ treatment to delight audiences with the best night out, in.”
So, what is the consensus around the Decision Marketing office?
Well, what a lorra, lorra fun everyone seems to be having on a Saturday night watching ITV, while we’re all alone with Sam Cooke.
However, we suspect the reality is somewhat different and a quick glance at the viewing figures will tell you that more people actually watched the BBC News than they did The Masked Singer or Ant & Dec’s Limitless Win this week.
Still, this film just about passes the “legal, decent, honest and truthful” rules and it does make the simple act of watching crap Saturday night telly look way more fun than it is… whether we’ll be tuning in, however, is another matter.
Decision Marketing Adometer: A “squared eyed” 7 out of 10
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