Toyota seals New Year ITV1 deal

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Toyota has struck a multi-million pound deal with Granada Enterprises to take key spots in ad breaks on New Year’s Day in a move to up-weight its advertising on ITV1 in preparation for the launch of the new-look, ninth-generation Corolla.

The car company is launching its new Corolla – the world’s best-selling car – on January 2 and plans to spend millions of pounds advertising the vehicle in the UK. The ad agency is Saatchi & Saatchi.

Toyota is understood to have considered a variety of options including taking the whole ad break before the main evening news on New Year’s Day. It has also considered buying a spot in each ad break, but this is understood to have created scheduling problems for other car advertisers, which do not want their ads to appear in the same break.

A deal of this type would also probably secure Toyota the first spot in each ad break.

Toyota has for the past five years sponsored ITV’s programming on New Year’s Eve and January 1. But the deal would not have stopped other car manufacturers from taking spots in the ad breaks.

Earlier this year Toyota decided not to renew the sponsorship deal. Instead, Disneyland Paris is understood to have paid up to &£500,000 for the sponsorship to promote its new theme park, Walt Disney Studios (MW November 29).

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