Winter Love Island won’t deter advertisers one bit

Sophie Bruce, Media Trainee

 
Love Island’s fifth series drew to a close two weeks ago, with the final raking in 3.66m TV viewers and a further 790,000 viewers streaming on non-TV devices.

For die-hard fans who have watched every episode since the beginning (aka me), this season fell flat from the dizzying heights of series two. Season 5, seemed less organic and more false than my heyday of Love Island.

I fell in love with the TV-series for its authenticity, watching regular (albeit attractive) people fall in love, who had no anticipation of what may happen after the camera stop rolling.

It was authentic, attainable reality. In contrast, most of season 5’s contestants didn’t even apply, they were swooped up by Love Island representatives and were fully aware that if they played their cards right, they’d have a plethora of interviews and deals lined up on their exit.

And according to Twitter, I’m not the only person who thought so…

 

 

 

 

But what does this mean for brands? Quids in, according to data released by Hitwise.

The show may have slightly lost touch with where it started, but it’s turned into a roaring success in recent years. In 2018, Missguided saw a double-digit rise in traffic online during Love Island’s and although data is yet to be released on new sponsors, it was documented that I Saw It First received more media exposure than Missguided did before the season began.

ITV also documented that Superdrug saw 200,000 visits online after the show, a 10% rise in spontaneous brand awareness, 15% increase in brand image and 9% in purchase intent.

So it comes as no surprise that ITV announced it will also air a winter series in early 2020, meaning viewers and brands will get the ‘long hot summer’ fix twice a year – but did they learn from Survival of the Fittest?

Right now, Love Island doesn’t seem to be slowing down but time will tell if loyal fans continue to couple up with Love Island or whether twice a year viewing will leave fans with the ‘ick’.