Drama and reality stars fight to the death in campaign for ITV
Oscar winner Tom Hooper directs spot with the message that the broadcaster spans both genres
Editor's Pick
Drama shows and reality TV are constantly fighting for viewers' attention these days. That battle comes to life in a hilarious short film from the U.K.'s ITV.
Agency Uncommon conceived the ad, which depicts celebrities from both genres literally fighting to the death. It stars Jason Watkins (star of ITV's "McDonald and Dodds" and Harold Wilson in "The Crown"), who's rehearsing in his trailer when Kem Cetinay, a former contestant on ITV's reality hit "Love Island," comes over for a drink. Watkins pours Cetinay a glass of wine laced with poison while distracting him with a speech on the importance of drama. However, his rival also has murderous intentions.
Ultimately, the point is to show that there's no need for fighting, since ITV offers the best of both worlds. Smuggler's Oscar-winning director Tom Hooper ("The King's Speech" and "Les Miserables") helmed the spot, which aired last night following the BRIT music awards on ITV. It marks the start of a new campaign centered on "drama vs reality."
"ITV are unique: they are the only place to bring together epic British drama and ferocious reality in one place on the ITV Hub," said Nils Leonard, co-founder at Uncommon, in a statement. "We celebrate this collision with a series of gloves-off films that blur the lines between advertising and entertainment, all showing the lengths that ITV stars will go to fight for your attention."
The campaign will include multiple media channels including outdoor, Snapchat and TikTok (where you can watch the clip of Watkins dancing in his trailer), with further films to follow over the next few weeks.
Credits
- Date
- May 12, 2021
- Client :
- ITV
- Agency :
- Uncommon Creative Studio
- Marketing Director :
- Paul Ridsdale
- Head of Brand Marketing :
- Brendan Dinen
- Brand Marketing Manager :
- Rebecca Throp
- Brand Marketing Exec :
- Harriet Lowe
- Creative Studio :
- Uncommon Creative Studio
- Director :
- Tom Hooper
- Production Company :
- SMUGGLER
- Prod Co Producer :
- Nick Sutherland Dodd
- Executive Producer :
- Sara Wallace
- Managing Director :
- Fergus Brown
- DOP :
- Barry Ackroyd
- Production Designer :
- Eve Stewart
- 1st AD :
- Terry Needham
- Editor :
- Russell Icke
- Senior Assistant :
- Steven Waltham
- Offline Executive Produce :
- Annabel Bennett
- Post Production :
- Electric Theatre Collective
- Shoot Supervisor :
- Giles Cheetham
- Post Production Producer :
- Magda Krimitsou
- Post Production Coordinator :
- Larisa Covaciu
- VFX Supervisor :
- Taran Spear
- Digital Intermediate Provided by :
- Goldcrest Post Production
- Digital Colorist :
- Adam Glasman
- Online Editor :
- Daniel Tomlinson
- DI Producer :
- Jonathan Collard
- Director of Post Production :
- Rob Farris
- 2D Team :
- Matt Jackson
- 2D Team :
- Alberto Pizzochero
- 2D Team :
- Kia Coates
- 2D Team :
- Rafa Vormittag
- 2D Team :
- Rich Roberts
- Executive Creative Director Audio :
- Anthony Moore
- Sound Design and Mix :
- James Utting
- Assistant Sound Engineer :
- Frankie Beirne
- Audio Producer :
- Deborah Whitfield
Need a credit fix? Contact the Creativity Editors
Related work

ITV: See Matthew Macfadyen, Jon Boyega and Helena Bonham-Carter audition in ads for ITVX

ITV: ITV's print ads remind us that listening can be your gift this year

ITV: TV actors and reality show stars face off in ITV's 'Mortal Kombat'-like fighting game
