��������pk10

Camelot has agreed to sponsor three ITV Saturday Night shows - the first time a single advertiser is sponsoring multiple primetime weekend shows.

The National Lottery operator will sponsor each of the upcoming series for The Masked Singer, The Voice UK and Ant & Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway for three months, beginning on 19 December. Even though The Masked Singer returns for a new series on 26 December, Camelot's on-screen idents kick off from 19 December for an episode of The Masked Singer Best Bits.

Camelot said the agreement is worth approximately £9m, which is believed to be the asking price that was put out to market, but an agency source familiar with the deal said it is likely to be closer to £6m. It is unusual for a brand to sponsor three different shows in one package deal. 

Deliveroo had agreed in to sponsor Saturday Night Takeaway in February in a two-year deal, but subsequently pulled out. ��������pk10 understands Deliveroo had decided to exit the deal after the coronavirus pandemic hit and social distancing lockdowns came into force in March. 

The Deliveroo deal was worth about £7m per year, multiple sources have confirmed. Suzuki had previously sponsored Saturday Night Takeaway for £10m a year from 2015, but this had included sponsored creative featured the presenters Ant and Dec themselves.

The Camelot deal will comprise a number of idents created by Aardman, the animation production house behind Wallace & Gromit, as well as further activity on the ITV Hub streaing service and the age-gated version of The Voice UK app.

The deal was negotiated and managed by Vizeum, the media planning and buying agency for Camelot. The company said its creative advertising agency, Adam & Eve/DDB, has led on creative strategy and approach for the deal, while ITV Creative, the broadcaster's in-house creative agency, is heading up production and "360 creative integration" of the sponsorship idea.

Camelot’s chief marketing officer, Keith Moor, said: “The National Lottery has been making Saturday night more entertaining for the past 26 years, with every ticket providing a moment of anticipation while also helping to raise around £30m each week for National Lottery-funded good causes.

"These are ITV’s flagship entertainment shows with the biggest audiences – so there’s a fantastic fit between the two brands with this partnership, and it will only help people to better understand the connection between The National Lottery’s unique purpose and play.”