MPG wins UK account to launch The Style Network

MPG has scooped the £1m UK launch account for lifestyle TV channel The Style Network without a pitch.

It will launch a heavyweight press campaign across celebrity magazines as well as TV spots. The channel, owned by US media group Comcast, will launch in the UK on July 7, as part of BSkyB’s pay-TV lifestyle and culture package.

Advertising for The Style Network has been created in house, and features presenters such as Jay Manuel, host of Style Her Famous and known in the UK for his spots on Living show America’s Next Top Model.

It will appear over the next month in magazines including OK!, Closer, Look, Heat and online. TV spots will air on digital channels including E4, More4, Fiver, ITV2, Living, Paramount, Sky One, Sky Two and Hallmark.

Series on the channel include How Do I Look?, Dress My Nest and Style Star. The channel is targeted at women in their mid-20s to early 30s – a similar audience to Comcast’s E!. Advertising sales are handled by Viacom Brand Solutions, which handles E! and has also renewed its sales partnership with Comcast for three years.

The UK launch of The Style Network continues a global roll-out for the brand. It launched in the US in 1999 and is now available in Africa, Malta, the Middle East, Croatia, Poland and Portugal.

It will feature US programming at launch, covering fashion, design, interior decoration, celebrity and urban lifestyles, but intends to add UK commissions and acquisitions in the long term.