First Choice has pulled sponsorship of I’m a Celebrity … Get Me Out of Here! as it switches to sustained TV advertising and attempts to move its brand further upmarket.
The sixth series started this week on ITV, with supermarket chain Iceland the new sponsor of the show.
First Choice sponsored three series in just over two years. Marketing director Tim Williamson: “There is no doubt the I’m A Celebrity sponsorship worked very well for us, However, the time was right to move on.
“This year, we felt we would get more value out of a sustained TV advertising campaign over several months than a heavyweight TV sponsorship over a couple of weeks.”
The fact the show is screened in November and no longer coincided with the January peak sales season was also a contributory factor, said a spokeswoman. She added:
“Sponsoring ‘I’m a Celebrity’ created genuine brand awareness for us but our advertising now allows us to be a bit more specific in our messages and it’s a bit more upmarket.”