Jan 10, 2011

Dublin, January 2011, Londis have announced that they will sponsor the hit UK TV series “Come Dine With Me” which will make its debut on TV3 this January. The sponsorship will be used to demonstrate the accessibility of; and wide range of products available in; Londis stores, and will be supported by a large-scale integrated PR and marketing campaign, including specially developed TV stings. The sponsorship begins in January with TV3 airing the UK series for 12 months, 5 days a week from 18:30 to 19:00, the sponsorship also includes the UK Celebrity version of “Come Dine With Me” which will run for 10 weeks from January 5^th airing every Wednesday at 21:00, and the first ever Irish version of “Come Dine With Me” which will launch later in 2011. 

Commenting on the announcement Londis, Trade Marketing Manager, Sue O’Grady said: “We are delighted to have this opportunity to sponsor the series as it makes its Irish debut. It has been hugely successful in other countries across the world and we hope it will have a big impact here in Ireland too. This sponsorship will allow us to demonstrate the accessibility and wide product range of Londis stores across the country and also gives the brand an impactful TV presence practically every day of the week.  We are particularly excited at the upcoming launch of the Irish version of the show and look forward to revealing more details on this, later in the year.”

The total Londis investment in the sponsorship and supporting campaign will be over €300K, including the creation of specially developed TV stings. The stings created by DDFH&B will revolve around the concept: ‘For all your dinner party emergencies’ and neatly highlight Londis’ accessibility and wide range of products, by dramatising the disasters that regularly befall contestants in the show.  Each 10 second sting shows a dinner party emergency - whether it, be knocking over red wine on a white tablecloth, burning dinner, or dropping dessert when taking it out of the fridge - and is concluded with the Londis ‘solution’.  Each disaster can be easily resolved with a product from your local Londis store.  The disasters have all been inspired by insights from the show, and are perfectly in tune with the tone of the programme.  This creative route will position Londis as the dinner party saviour. In addition to the new stings Londis will implement an integrated PR and promotional campaign which will look to build a deeper association between the sponsorship and Londis customers, offering creative in-store promotional campaigns as well as other exciting initiatives throughout 2011.  

TV3’s Commercial Director Pat Kiely said: “We are thrilled to have secured Londis as our broadcast sponsor of Come Dine With Me on TV3. As a major national brand providing an extensive range of food products it is a brilliant fit for this particular programme. We look forward to working with Londis on this partnership as we build towards the launch of Ireland’s very own Come Dine With Me series which will launch later in the year” Launched in January 2005 on Channel 4, “Come Dine With Me” has become a global phenomenon with International versions running or planned for over 26 territories worldwide.

The UK version itself is broadcast in Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the US. The show features four or five amateur chefs competing against each other hosting a dinner party for the other contestants. Each competitor then rates the host's performance with the winner winning a £1,000 cash prize. An element of comedy is added to the show through comedian Dave Lamb, who provides a dry and "bitingly sarcastic" narration.