Sony Pixel Power calrec Sony

ITV launches Drama vs Reality brand campaign

12/05/2021

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.
LINK: https://www.itv.com/presscentre/press-releases/itv-launches-drama-vs-r...
See more stories from itv

Most recent headlines

05/01/2027

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be demoed at CES 2026

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...

09/10/2026

Dolby Expands Dolby OptiView Platform with New Capabilities at IBC 2026

September 10 2026, 06:00 (PDT) Dolby Expands Dolby OptiView Platform with New Capabilities at IBC 2026 New Sports Intelligence helps providers better unders...

08/10/2026

Disney+ to Stream Super Bowl LXI Live

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

08/10/2026

Formula 1 U.S. Grand Prix to Be Carried in Dolby Atmos, Dolby Vision on Apple TV

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

08/10/2026

Marshall to Bring Newest PTZ and POV Cameras to NAB Show New York

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

08/10/2026

Marshall Electronics to Showcase Award-winning Camera Sol...

Marshall Electronics, a globally recognized provider of high-performance video solutions for broadcast, streaming, AV and professional production, will exhibit ...

07/10/2026

EastWest to introduce Hollywood Scoring Tools

New all-in-one scoring package incoming EastWest's latest release brings together an eclectic mix of sampled instruments in an attempt to provide compos...

07/10/2026

Baby Audio announce HyperWarp

Granular process features graph-based sequencer The latest addition to Baby Audio's ever-expanding collection of plug-ins is a new time-bending effect b...

07/10/2026

Mike Beigel: 1947-2026

Iconic inventor & designer passes away Mike Beigel, the inventor and designer who co-founded Musitronics, has sadly passed away aged 79. Mike was responsibl...

07/10/2026

Raspel: Free plug-in from Kreuzberg Audio

Combines filtering & wavefolding Kreuzberg Audio have recently introduced a plug-in that combines filtering and wavefolding in a way that allows the two pro...

07/10/2026

Cherry Audio release Pentaphonic

Recreates the ultra-rare Gleeman Pentaphonic Cherry Audio's latest soft synth faithfully recreates the Gleeman Pentaphonic, a vintage synth that was kno...

07/10/2026

Statement on the passing of Richard Morecroft

Statement on the passing of Richard Morecroft 7 October, 2026 Media releases Statement by SBS Managing Director, Jane Palfreyman SBS is deeply saddened...

07/10/2026

Digital Alert Systems Releases Version 6.1 for DASDEC-III

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

07/10/2026

WISYCOM TRANSFORMS WIRELESS WORKFLOW AT SUTTER HEALTH PAR...

Sacramento Production Services has completed a major wireless audio overhaul at Sutter Health Park, current home of the Athletics (A's) professional basebal...

07/10/2026

Cobalt Digital to Bring End-to-End ST 2110/IPMX Solutions and Practical Tools to NAB Show New York

Cobalt Digital to Bring End-to-End ST 2110/IPMX Solutions and Practical Tools to...

07/10/2026

Sanbila Lets Video Editors Import Rushes From a WeTransfer Link and Edit Them From the Cloud

Sanbila Lets Video Editors Import Rushes From a WeTransfer Link and Edit Them Fr...

07/10/2026

2026 NAB Show New York Exhibitor Insight: Matrox Video

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

07/10/2026

Skydance Completes Paramount-WBD Merger

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

07/10/2026

Exclusive: SDI Remains Primary Infrastructure for Broadcasters

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

07/10/2026

Zixi, Grass Valley, Uplynk and BroadView Software Set Out IP Framework for Distribution

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

07/10/2026

DHD SX2 and XS3 Audio System Selected for Broadcast Media...

UK-based broadcast engineer Andrew Kemp has chosen a dhd.audio SX2 and XS3 as the basis of a transportable media-training resource. With a quarter-century of ex...

07/10/2026

Techex to Demo Hybrid Satellite-IP Delivery at NAB Show New York

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

07/10/2026

Fred Vigeant to Lead Pennsylvania's WPSU

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

07/10/2026

Brazil's SBT Uses Pebble Automation for Expanded Playout

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

07/10/2026

Florida Panthers and AJP Complete Next-Generation Broadcast Production Facility

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

07/10/2026

Emmys Will Move to Prime Video Next Year

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

07/10/2026

Netflix Taps IMG as Production Partner for 2027 Women's World Cup

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

07/10/2026

2026 NAB Show New York Exhibitor Insight: Appear

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

07/10/2026

University of Utah Adds State-of-the-Art Sports Production Facility

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

07/10/2026

Sinclair, New Media to Launch Subscription Digital News Platform

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

07/10/2026

Cobalt Digital to Bring End to End ST 2110 IPMX Solutions...

Cobalt Digital to Bring End-to-End ST 2110/IPMX Solutions and Practical Tools to NAB Show New York Highlights include complete path from SDI to IP, C-band tran...

07/10/2026

Deerstalker Pictures The Exorcism of Nixie Shot With Blackmagic Cameras

Deerstalker Pictures The Exorcism of Nixie Shot With Blackmagic Cameras Brie Clayton October 6, 2026 0 Comments Fantasy series relied on Blackmagic ca...

07/10/2026

Nevion announces Providius NVRT integration with eMerge switches for expanded broadcast network observability

Nevion announces Providius NVRT integration with eMerge switches for expanded br...

07/10/2026

DriveShelf - A Filmmaker's Mac App for Finding Footage on Unplugged Drives

DriveShelf - A Filmmaker's Mac App for Finding Footage on Unplugged Drives Brie Clayton October 6, 2026 0 Comments DriveShelf for Mac catalogs eve...

07/10/2026

COW Jobs: Cinematographer, Video Editor - Baltimore, MD

COW Jobs: Cinematographer, Video Editor - Baltimore, MD Brie Clayton October 7, 2026 0 Comments Cinematographer / Video Editor September 23, 2026 ...

07/10/2026

Behind the Scenes at Berklee Homecoming 2026

Behind the Scenes at Berklee Homecoming 2026 Follow Marley Striem BM '25 behind the scenes as she manages a team of students and liaises with artists duri...

07/10/2026

Berklee College of Music and Berklee Valencia Named to Billboards 2026 List of Top Music Business Schools

Berklee College of Music and Berklee Valencia Named to Billboards 2026 List of T...

07/10/2026

NVIDIA, Microsoft Kick Off a New Beginning for Windows PCs with RTX Spark and AI Agents

At a Microsoft event in San Francisco on Wednesday, Jensen Huang and Satya Nadel...

07/10/2026

FIRST LOOK images released for upcoming drama, The Cadburys

The six-part series will launch on free-streaming service U in 2027. A set of first look images have been released for The Cadburys (6x60'), the upcoming s...

07/10/2026

Sky Sports to broadcast Englands ODI tri-series against Pakistan and Sri Lanka this October

Wednesday 7 October 2026 Sky Sports to broadcast England's ODI tri-series a...

07/10/2026

IBC2026: The Dynamic Media Facility moved from architecture to partnership

When the EBU and AMWA launched the Joint Task Force on the Dynamic Media Facility (JT-DMF) at IBC2025, the DMF was largely a concept. Twelve months on, the conv...

07/10/2026

Even the digital government needs a Plan B

Even the Digital Government Needs a Plan B AFCEA study National Security Ecosystem 2030 presented at the Bonn IT Dialogue. Arvato Systems / AFCEA Bonn e. ...

07/10/2026

Moloco becomes first technology provider to achieve IAB Europe Retail Media Certification following independent ABC audit

This development extends certification beyond individual Retail Media Networks a...

07/10/2026

RT STATEMENT: RT FUNDING BUDGET 2027

RT has been informed that, as stated in Budget 2027, the Government has made the decision to cut the agreed public funding of RT by 20 million for 2027. In ...

07/10/2026

Experts raise alarm over dangerous' fertility treatments in Ireland in new RT Investigates Documentary

Undercover filming shows add-on treatments with potential safety concerns on sal...

07/10/2026

Get ready to laugh out loud, RT comedy show No Worries If Not is back

Join Emma Doran, Justine Stafford, Killian Sundermann, Se n Burke and Michael Fry on RT 2 and RT Player tomorrow at 10.30pm A host of guest stars include Siob...

07/10/2026

Dalet Flex LTS Delivers Smarter Media Operations from Ingest to Distribution

Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, today announced the latest Long-Term Supported (LTS) release of Dalet Flex. Build...

06/10/2026

Op-Ed: The Story Object Model for Sport? The Game Is Already in Play

A response to Mark Turner and the SVG AI Innovation Lab SVG AI Innovation Lab Program Director Mark Turner's How Broadcast Sports Can Apply the Newsroom S...

06/10/2026

Cobalt Digital to Demonstrate ST 2110/IPMX Ecosystem at NAB Show New York

Cobalt Digital will exhibit at NAB Show New York 2026 (Booth 226, Javits Center, October 21-22), demonstrating its ST 2110/IPMX product line alongside solutions...