Waitrose to sponsor Channel 4’s The Great British Bake Off 2024

27 February 2024

Channel 4 Sales has secured retailer Waitrose, in a deal brokered by MG OMD, as the new sponsor of fan favourite, The Great British Bake Off.

As the official broadcast sponsor, Waitrose idents will feature around the forthcoming Bake Off line up on Channel 4 including: The Great British Bake Off, The Great British Bake Off: An Extra Slice, The Great Celebrity Bake Off for Stand Up To Cancer, Bake Off: The Professionals, The Great British Bake Off Festive Specials and Junior Bake Off.

The partnership has been cooked up by Channel 4 Sales in partnership with media agency MG OMD with the creative being whisked together by Saatchi & Saatchi, using the sponsorship line “The Great British Bake Off proudly sponsored by Waitrose.” A new suite of playful idents will celebrate all the home baking endeavours that are “Still Good”: those moments - just like in the tent - when it doesn’t all go to plan, but the results taste delicious anyway. 

The Great British Bake Off is produced by Love Productions for Channel 4.

Waitrose will first appear on ‘coming soon’ on-air trails this weekend (March 3) for The Great Celebrity Bake Off for Stand Up To Cancer, which returns to Channel 4 this spring with a delectable new mixture of celebrity bakers. Over five new episodes, hosts Alison Hammond and Noel Fielding will welcome the 20 famous faces to the Bake Off tent, where they will try to impress Paul Hollywood and Prue Leith with their baking skills. 

The stars facing the signature, technical and showstopper challenges are: comedian & presenter Adam Hills, actor Danny Dyer, comedian and author David O'Doherty, TV and radio broadcaster Dermot O'Leary, comedian Fern Brady, TV presenter Gabby Logan, presenter and children’s author Greg James, actress Jodie Whittaker, actor Joe Locke, comedian Leigh Francis, Spice Girl, TV presenter and patron of Women’s Aid Mel B OBE, broadcaster and satirist Munya Chawawa, TV presenter Oti Mabuse, singer and actress Paloma Faith, broadcaster and writer The Reverend Richard Coles, comedian Rhod Gilbert, broadcaster Sara Cox, broadcaster Spencer Matthews, comedian Suzi Ruffell, and presenter and documentary filmmaker Yinka Bokinni.

Rupinder Downie, sponsorship and commercial partnerships leader, Channel 4 said: “As the name states The Great British Bake Off is quintessentially British so it is a joy to team up with another iconic British brand, Waitrose, for this sponsorship. The partnership is a perfect pairing combining Channel 4’s heart-warming GBBO content with viewers’ love of feel-good food. Broadcast sponsorship remains the optimum environment for brands to align themselves with the positive attributes of the shows that audiences actively seek out .”

Nathan Ansell, Customer Director at Waitrose & Partners said: “This is a great partnership for Waitrose, Bake Off is a firm favourite with many of our customers. It presents us with an opportunity to share our love of food with a like minded audience. There are few other opportunities that could offer the scale and impact of this prime time show, in such a contextually perfect environment, and with a brand tone of voice that complements our own so well.”

Maddie Taylor Wilson, at MG OMD said: "We are so excited to see this partnership between these two well-loved British brands come to life. Bake Off is so well loved and the perfect property for connecting with our audience."

Franki Goodwin, Chief Creative Officer at Saatchi & Saatchi said: “I’m a huge fan of this deal. To be able to connect our favourite supermarket with one of our absolute favourite shows is such a great creative opportunity and one that we will be running at with some simple recipes, loads of good ingredients and a pre-heated oven. The idea is simple and true when it comes to baking – cake a bit wonky? Still good. Biscuits a bit broken? Still good. That’s the spirit of our brand and of the show.”

ENDS

About Channel 4

Channel 4 exists to create change through entertainment. Publicly owned yet commercially funded, Channel 4 generates significant and sustainable cultural, economic and social impact across the UK – at no cost to the taxpayer.

The broadcaster’s distinctive remit is set by Parliament, and it has a role to represent unheard voices, challenge with purpose and reinvent entertainment. For over 40 years, it has been a British success story, engaging generation after generation of young people.

Through a unique publisher-broadcaster model, Channel 4 commissions its content from the UK independent production sector. Working with around 300 creative companies every year, Channel 4 makes a major contribution to the local, regional and national economy, creating and supporting thousands of jobs and businesses across the country.

In 2020, Channel 4 launched its Future4 strategy to become a digital-first public service media company and to continue to deliver significant impact for UK audiences and investment into the UK creative economy.

Across its bases in London, Leeds, Manchester, Bristol and Glasgow, Channel 4 is turbocharging its efforts to find, nurture and develop talent across the UK. Through its training and development initiative 4Skills, Channel 4 is opening up opportunities in broadcasting, with a particular focus on disadvantaged young people, and addressing skills gaps across the Nations and Regions.

Channel 4 has the UK’s biggest free streaming service plus 11 television channels including: Channel 4, E4, E4 Extra, More4, Film4, 4Seven and The Box Plus Network. Through Film4 Productions, Channel 4 also invests in British filmmakers to huge critical acclaim, producing 37 Oscar wins and 88 BAFTA wins in its history.

https://www.channel4.com/

About MG OMD

MG OMD, an Omnicom Media Group agency, that offers clients unprecedented insight, specialism, security, and transparency. We are focused on using media to unlock our clients’ competitive advantage, delivering innovative, effective, and award-winning work and campaigns that create difference that matters.

MG OMD is the most awarded media agency in both the history of the IPA Effectiveness Awards and Thinkbox’s TV Planning Awards and is currently Media Week’s Agency Partner of the Year for the third consecutive year and Thinkbox’s TV Planning Agency of the Year for the second year running.

Omnicom Media Group is the media services division of Omnicom Group, Inc. (NYSE: OMC) 

https://www.mgomd.com

About Waitrose

Waitrose & Partners has 329 shops in England, Scotland, Wales and the Channel Islands, including 59 convenience branches, 27 shops at Welcome Break locations, and Waitrose.com - its fast-growing online shopping business, consistently rated highly by independent research. The retailer combines the convenience of a supermarket with the expertise and service of a specialist shop - dedicated to offering quality food that has been responsibly sourced, combined with high standards of customer service. As part of an employee-owned business, all Partners have a say in how the business is run.

About Saatchi & Saatchi

Saatchi & Saatchi has a simple ambition to create the most influential creative ideas from modern Britain, a mission recognised by its inclusion in Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies List 2023.

This spirit is brought to bear on transformative work for clients including EE, BT, Direct Line Group, Subway, Britvic, Pilgrims and Siemens, and in a series of standout new business wins for 2023 including The John Lewis Partnership, (incorporating John Lewis, Waitrose and John Lewis Financial Services) and OVO. The company also launched Upriser in late 2022, a free to access creative schools platform available to any secondary school in the UK. 

The Saatchi & Saatchi network unites 114 offices in 67 countries and 6,500 people. Saatchi & Saatchi is part of the Publicis Groupe.

www.saatchi.co.uk