Now in their eighth year, the LAFTAS will be sponsored by the milkshake brand, YAZOO.
The Loaded LAFTAS with YAZOO comprises a main awards event, which will take place January 2011, and a UK tour organised by the leading comedy brand Jongleurs.
Kicking off in September this year – visiting London, Portsmouth, Nottingham, Croydon and Glasgow – the tour will, for the first time, include a search to find a comedy star. Following the five regional dates, the best acts will be invited to perform at semi-final dates in October.
The regional winners will go forward to a final held at London’s Sway club in November chosen by an industry panel, where a winner will be presented with the ‘Rising Star’ award and perform at the LAFTAS awards event in front of an audience of A-list comedians and industry in January.
The winner will also receive £500, a laptop, and a money-can’t-buy prize which will see the winner “Sim’ed” to appear in the new version of legendary computer game, The Sims.
Voting for the Loaded LAFTAS with YAZOO will begin in October and close in January. All winners will be chosen by Loaded readers. The event will be heavily promoted across Loaded magazine and www.loaded.co.uk, as well as other IPC Inspire men and music brands, Nuts and NME.
Previous winners of LAFTAs awards include Frank Skinner, Bruce Forsyth, Justin Lee Collins, Russell Howard and Michael McIntyre.
Loaded publishing director Jo Smalley (pictured) says: “The Loaded LAFTAs are where the biggest names in comedy celebrate the very best in British humour. I'm delighted to be celebrating that talent with our new partner, YAZOO, who is working with us to make this LAFTAS better than ever.”
IPC Inspire Men & Music Sponsorship & Brand Solutions manager Rob Hunt adds: “We're really pleased to be working with YAZOO on the LAFTAs. It's really stepping up a gear this year with the additional involvement of Jongleurs and the top notch prize for the competition means we should find a new comedy star.”
Marielle de Jong, marketing director for YAZOO, comments: “This is a fresh and exciting campaign for YAZOO and the first time we are directly targeting the young male audience. We already know that young men are a key YAZOO consumer, and we plan to drive the category further this year by marketing directly to this audience.”
Jongleurs managing director Maria Kempinska adds: “Jongleurs has a brilliant history of nurturing the very best comedy talent. We are proud to be associated with the Loaded LAFTAS and look forward to an exciting competition to find the next big voice in comedy.”
