Streetmate kicked off last week, the first in a ten-part series
providing a welcome alternative to the conventional blind date
format.
A cheerful and sassy Davina McCall picks people off the street in cities
around the country and helps them to find their perfect partner.
Running around the streets, McCall swoops on a candidate and then
frantically runs around pulling out possible partners until they find
the right one.
Unfortunately, quite a lot of those fancied already had other halves,
which showed the programme’s spontaneous authenticity and eerily echoed
the predicament of many single people.
Four advertisers appeared in the first ad break: Stafford Miller’s
Nytol, Levi’s 501, Sony Playstation’s new game, Duke Nukem, and
Twentieth Century Fox’s Titanic video.
The TV buyer for the Titanic video chose to advertise during a programme
which would bring in the product’s target audience of 16- to
34-year-olds and was confident that Channel 4’s promotion of the series
would pull in strong ratings.
Levi’s 501 used top and tail ads in the break, and the campaign’s take
on the originality of Levi’s neatly echoed the original take on the
dating programme format.
The TV buyer for Sony’s 3D game, Duke Nukem, sought a spot which would
appeal to both men and women aged 16 to 34.
Client: 20th Century Fox
Agency: MediaVest
Buyer: Ricki Assenheim
Client: Levi’s 501
Agency: Motive
Buyer: Will Phipps
Client: Playstation’s Duke Nukem
Agency: Total Media
Buyer: Anita Rayat
Programme: Streetmate
TV station: Channel 4
Date: 30 October 1998, 21.30
Break transmission time: 21.45
BARB: Women 16-34, 8.6 TVRs (live)
