
BAFTA-winning actor Jason Watkins and Love Island winner Kem Cetinay go head-to-head in fight for our attention
Unlikely pairing launch new ITV brand campaign Drama vs Reality' to highlight more content on the ITV Hub than ever before
Tonight, ITV kicks off a new brand campaign, titled Drama vs Reality', to highlight the wealth of drama and reality shows that are available on ITV Hub. The idea behind the new campaign shows stars from drama and reality TV stopping at nothing in the fight for our attention.
ITV Hub has kicked off 2021 with its best ever viewing numbers for drama - and titles including The Pembrokeshire Murders, The Bay series 2, Finding Alice, McDonald and Dodds, Grace, Unforgotten series 4, Marcella series 3 and Too Close are all there for viewers to discover.
ITV is also home to the biggest reality series, and full series of Love Island, Ibiza Weekender, The Cabins, Real Housewives of Cheshire and Jersey, and Sam and Billie: The Mummy Diaries are ready and waiting for reality fans to binge on.
The campaign launches tonight with the first TV ad after The Brit Awards this evening, showing the first in a series of unexpected pairings - which sees renowned drama stars pitted against beloved reality stars as they aim to take each other out in amusing, underhand ways in their bid to win the battle for viewers' attention on ITV Hub.
The fully integrated marketing campaign will use multiple media channels, including outdoor as well as over the coming weeks innovative activations on younger skewing platforms such as Snapchat and Tiktok, bringing the Drama vs Reality' idea to life, for what is ITV's biggest brand campaign of recent times.
Jane Stiller ITV's Chief Marketing Officer said:
With this ambitious campaign, we are investing in getting the message out to viewers, especially those that do the majority of their viewing on demand, that ITV Hub is a destination for brilliant content and is the home of the best drama and reality programming.
The first TV ad in the campaign titled Poison', shows unlikely duo, BAFTA award-winning actor Jason Watkins (Des, McDonald and Dodds) having murderous intentions when he invites Love Island's Kem Cetinay over for a drink.
In the playful skit, we find Jason on-set, preparing lines for an upcoming scene, until interrupted by a knock at his trailer door by the unassuming Kem. The pair exchange pleasantries as Jason invites Kem inside for a drink. Seemingly unbeknown to Kem, Jason causes distraction with a cathartic speech on the importance of drama, whilst making a drink for the reality star which is laced with deadly poison.
As the two seem relaxed in one another's company, the battle between drama and reality becomes clear, Kem is one step ahead - swapping his poisoned drink with Jason's to win the fight for our attention - as the new season for Love Island draws closer.
Jason Watkins said:
Delighted to be highlighting the wealth of ITV Drama on the ITV Hub. Fighting Drama's corner! Who knows, maybe one day I'll dip my toe into Reality!
Kem added:
What can I say, I'm a competitive guy so I didn't come to play! When drama and reality collide it all kicks off .
The campaign was created with Uncommon Creative Studio and shot by Oscar-winning Director Tom Hooper (The King's Speech, Les Mis rables) whose credits also include the iconic ITV drama Prime Suspect. Alongside cinematographer Barry Ackroyd, whose BAFTA nominated work includes the iconic Green Zone, Jason Bourne and The Big Short, and Terry Needham, the 1st assistant director on Black Hawk Down.
Media for the campaign was planned and delivered by Essence.
The campaign is set to follow with another unanticipated battle between ITV drama and reality TV stars launching next week. Stay tuned.
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
07/10/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, today announced the latest Long-Term Supported (LTS) release of Dalet Flex. Build...
09/09/2026
Sony Electronics has announced the SEL814G, the company's first fisheye zoom G Lens for full-frame Alpha E-mount cameras. The lens will be available in Octo...
09/09/2026
Telestream has announced an expansion of its Practical AI capabilities across th...
09/09/2026
Haivision and Chyron have announced a technology partnership integrating Haivisi...
09/09/2026
Omaha Productions has released ManningCast: Heist, a short film featuring Peyton and Eli Manning attempting to break into NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell's o...
09/09/2026
Imagine Communications will demonstrate the next evolution of XVR at IBC2026 (Stand 1.B73, RAI Amsterdam, September 11-14).
XVR is Imagine's channel-in-a-b...
09/09/2026
swXtch.io has announced abbe, an AI-based orchestration layer for live media workflows, making its world premiere at IBC2026 (Meeting Room 5.MR13, Hall 5, Septe...
09/09/2026
NFL Films has announced the second season of Inside the NFL on X as an X Original, premiering Wednesday, September 9. The series marks Inside the NFL's 50th...
09/09/2026
LiveU has announced an expanded partnership with The Associated Press, deploying the largest fleet of LU900Q intelligent production units in the industry as par...
09/09/2026
Diversified has announced plans to consolidate its four existing New Jersey locations into a new facility in Newark, expected to be fully operational by the end...
09/09/2026
Wisycom will exhibit new RF products at IBC2026 (Stand 8.D60, September 11-14), including the MATF Wideband Antenna Matrix, PFL Portable RF over Fiber Box, and ...
09/09/2026
Guntermann & Drunck (G&D) and VuWall, both Panoptec companies, will introduce vsNEO at IBC2026 (Stand 8.B63, September 11, RAI Amsterdam). Pre-orders open in ea...
09/09/2026
Mo-Sys has completed a business restructuring and relocated to a new facility in Canada Water, London. As part of the reorganization, Selin Kemal has been promo...
09/09/2026
Aicox has integrated TAG Video Systems' Core monitoring platform into Telef nica's TSAmediaHUB audiovisual contribution and distribution infrastructure....
09/09/2026
Blackmagic Design has released DaVinci Resolve 21.1, a free update available now through the Blackmagic Design website. The release adds new AI tools, workflow ...
09/09/2026
ESPN and Apple Music have announced a collaboration on music curation for Monday...
09/09/2026
Sacramento Production Services has completed a wireless audio overhaul at Sutter Health Park, home of the Athletics during their three-year residency in Sacrame...
09/09/2026
NDI and NVIDIA have announced a collaboration to develop AI-powered workflows enabling broadcasters to create and distribute multilingual content from a single ...
09/09/2026
Christopher Chip Adams, Troy Aikman, Jim Dove, Jim Eady, Bucky Gunts, Robert A. Iger, Charlie Jablonski, Robert Kraft, Tom Rinaldi, and Dick Stockton to be ho...
09/09/2026
ND2 returns as the primary unit, While FNIA gets SSQC and new flexible Rover...
09/09/2026
New parts aimed at hip-hop and pop productions
The latest update to Celemony's innovative virtual session musician expands the collection of built-in in...
09/09/2026
Save up to 40% until 21 September 2026
Sonarworks are currently running their Autumn Sale, with discounts of up to 40% currently available across their rang...
09/09/2026
Upcoming title officially launches in September 2026
Bjooks' celebrations for this year's 909 Day will be welcome news amongst drum machine lovers, ...
09/09/2026
NITV to bring First Nations netball to audiences nationwide
9 September, 2026
Media releases
Every match of the 2026 First Nations Tournament will be live ...
09/09/2026
The National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF) invites eligible Tier 1 and 2 South African production companies to submit proposals to serve as the Facilitating ...
09/09/2026
Italy launch follows UK and Germany as Nielsen expands product across EMEA
Milan, Italy, September 9, 2026 - Nielsen, a global leader in audience measurement, ...
09/09/2026
Planned solutions tackle accuracy, cost and latency barriers to deploying AI at ...
09/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
09/09/2026
Studio Technologies, a leading manufacturer of high-quality audio, video, and fiber-optic solutions, introduces its new Model 791 Control Console at IBC 2026 (N...
09/09/2026
Maxon, maker of powerful, approachable software solutions for creators working in 2D and 3D design, motion graphics, visual effects and visualization, is headin...
09/09/2026
NUGEN Audio unveils DialogCheck v1.2, the latest evolution of its intelligent dialog intelligibility and compliance tool, at IBC 2026 (Pod P27). With a sharpene...
09/09/2026
Trusted Partner Network Launches Fix It or Risk It to Help the Entertainment Industry Tackle Everyday Security Risks
Industry-Wide Campaign Launches at IBC2...
09/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
09/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
09/09/2026
AI has moved firmly beyond experimentation in UK advertising, with more than eight in ten marketers (83%) now actively using or piloting AI in production, accor...
09/09/2026
IBC2026 - Stand 7.D22
At IBC2026, Pixitmedia by DataCore will showcase its latest capabilities designed to simplify distributed production, accelerate workflow...
09/09/2026
Stockholm, Sweden September 9th, 2026 At IBC2026, on booth 1.B47, Net Insight will showcase Open Live Media, its architecture for delivering resilient live ...
09/09/2026
Net Insight today announced that DMC Production Norway is continuing the use of its Open Live Media technology for premium European football, deploying Nimbra 5...
09/09/2026
Amagi, the media industry cloud platform for unified broadcast, streaming, and monetization, will showcase four new AI-native capabilities at IBC2026, Hall 5, S...
09/09/2026
Limecraft today announces version 2026.6 of its AI-powered production platform, extending capabilities for connected media operations. An AI-assisted approach t...
09/09/2026
Telestream, a global leader in media workflow technologies, today announced the next evolution of its Practical AI strategy, evolving its comprehensive portfoli...
09/09/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, today announced the appointment of Brian Doheny as Chief Executive Officer (CEO)....
09/09/2026
LiveU is now a Clarus Integrated Reseller, bringing Starlink's fast, reliable broadband directly into LiveU's cellular bonding EcoSystem through a singl...
09/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
09/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
09/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
09/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
09/09/2026
Wisycom is showcasing the latest additions to its ecosystem of professional RF technologies at IBC 2026 (Stand 8.D60). This includes its new MATF Wideband Anten...
09/09/2026
AMSTERDAM, IBC2026 VisualOn, Inc. and Cires21 today released an updated joint whitepaper at IBC 2026 demonstrating measurable, high-impact improvements in visu...