The archive · Advertising · Marketing decision · 2021
ITV stages TV’s first text interview to show why Britain should get talking
ITV interrupted Saturday night TV with an interview conducted entirely by text, then used everyday objects in print to push better quality conversations.
ITV
What it had to solve
ITV’s renowned mental-health initiative Britain Get Talking was returning, built on the idea that better quality conversations support mental wellbeing. The task was to make millions feel why conversation quality matters rather than just hear the advice.
How it works
ITV interrupted 5.2 million viewers during Saturday night TV with what it billed as the first ever text interview. The jarring moment was designed to show the importance of having better quality conversations, and it marked the return of the broadcaster’s renowned mental-health initiative, Britain Get Talking.
Instead of lecturing viewers, the execution made them sit through a conversation held entirely by text — a deliberately low-quality way to talk — so the problem was felt before the answer was offered. The interruption then handed over to the initiative’s message that better conversations support mental wellbeing.
A suite of print executions carried the idea into ordinary life, pairing clever copy with manipulated everyday objects: a scrunched-up receipt from yesterday’s food shop, car parking tickets gathering dust in a glove compartment. The work is filed in the D&AD awards archive under Writing for Advertising.
Why it lands
- An interview conducted entirely by text demonstrates low-quality conversation in real time, so millions experience the awkwardness instead of being told about it.
- Putting the stunt inside Saturday night’s biggest shows guarantees the jarring moment lands with the audience the initiative most needs.
- The print suite turns invisible everyday moments — receipts, parking tickets — into reminders that any moment can be a chance for a real conversation.
What it did
The jarring on-air interview reached 5.2 million Saturday night viewers and marked the return of ITV’s renowned mental-health initiative, while the print suite carried the same point into everyday life. The work is filed in the D&AD awards archive under Writing for Advertising.
What you can take
Make the audience feel the problem in the medium’s own language: a text interview demonstrates low-quality conversation so literally that viewers live through it before being told to talk better.
Since then
The text-interview moment interrupted Saturday night television in front of 5.2 million viewers and brought Britain Get Talking, ITV’s long-running mental-health initiative, back into the schedule. The D&AD awards archive files the work under Writing for Advertising, and the campaign remains a documented example of a broadcaster using its own airtime to make a social message felt rather than stated.
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