New campaign Digital UK

Consumers are being urged to buy digital TV sets now rather than wait for switchover, in a £7m advertising campaign from Digital UK.

The “Why Wait” campaign, which has been created by Abbott Mead Vickers.BBDO, aims to remind people that they do not have to wait to enjoy the benefits of digital TV.

The ad will feature robot character Digit Al, animated by Aardman Animation and voiced by Little Britain star Matt Lucas. It will run across commercial channels, BBC1 and BBC2 and there will be a particular focus on the Granada region, which is due to switch over in 2009. It breaks in the first week of October and will run until Christmas.

Digital UK, which is overseeing the change from analogue to digital, says that although two-thirds of the population are aware of the switchover, too few people are doing anything about it.