Mars to sponsor Gladiators show

MEDIA Mars Confectionery is expected to replace Kellogg’s Frosties as the new sponsor of the Gladiators programme while BT is to sponsor Granada TV’s This Morning, presented by Judy Finnegan and Richard Madeley.

MEDIA

Mars Confectionery is expected to replace Kellogg’s Frosties as the new sponsor of the Gladiators programme while BT is to sponsor Granada TV’s This Morning, presented by Judy Finnegan and Richard Madeley.

The deals bring the value of sponsorship deals through sales house Laser to 6m this year – about 50 per cent of the ITV network’s total.

BT’s sponsorship launches on air when This Morning returns from its summer break on September 4.

The Mars’ sponsorship deal will be completed in time for the new Gladiator series in September. Frosties has sponsored the LWT programme for the past year.

The Mars deal follows reports last week that Laser is close to securing Mars’ Pedigree Petfoods as sponsor of Coronation Street in an agreement worth 10m.

Laser director of sponsorship Paul Chard insists that Pedigree is just one of ten or 12 top advertisers with whom Laser has discussed a possible Coronation Street sponsorship deal.

“Everyone knows we are looking for a sponsor because of our publicised talks with Tetley late last year,” he says. Negotiations with Pedigree are not as advanced as they were with Tetley parent Allied Domecq before those talks broke down, adds Chard. Commercial Union’s sponsorship of London’s Burning will also break on TV this month. The deal was negotiated by Laser, as first tipped in Marketing Week July 21.

September sees the return of Baywatch, sponsored by Wella Hair Care. Meanwhile, Express Newspapers is to sponsor a new Saturday quiz show called Raise the Roof.

“We’re bowled over by how much business we are doing,” Chard says. “Advertisers’ interest in network ITV sponsorship opportunities is very, very encouraging.”