RAF sponsors C4 show Web stream

The Royal Air Force is to be the exclusive sponsor for Channel 4’s ground-breaking 24-hour live free internet streaming of its hoax “reality” show, Space Cadets.

Space Cadets, which starts today (Thursday) and runs for ten nights, is presented by Johnny Vaughan and follows a group of people who believe they are to undergo training at a Russian space base before being blasted into space for five days. In fact, they will spend the whole time at a disused airfield in the UK.

There is no sponsor for the main television show. The 20-second RAF ads will be shown every time someone logs on to the show’s microsite, Channel4.com/ spacecadets, to view the streaming video feed during the first 24 hours of live coverage of the training (the first few shows, covering the selection of the participants, are recorded). The deal was brokered by digital media agency I-level.

An RAF spokesman says: “With the progression of broadband, more people are now watching TV online. In 16- to 24-year-olds, we have a target audience which is at the forefront of technological advances. This sponsorship not only represents a great opportunity for us to reach them in a way that matches their behaviour, but the very fact we’re there has a positive effect on the RAF brand.”