AdBreak reality series delayed until 2012 – HK producers Ice-TV to focus on local versions first

While The Gruen Transfer starts its fourth season tonight on ABC1, The AdBreak – the proposed eight-week prime time TV reality series to be hosted by Australia’s Sean Cummins and be broadcast on Asian cable channel AXN – has been delayed until 2012.

According to Hong Kong based David Searl, managing director of Ice-TV, the company will focus on local versions of the show first.

Details of the show were announced back in November. Since then, the show’s organisers have only done three tweets on their Twitter page, the last on December 2, and their last Facebook update was on the same day. Their website has no further details beyond what was put up late last year.

The AdBreak aims to let 10 young ad industry hopefuls battle it out for an internship with an Omnicom creative agency.

Pitched as ‘The Apprentice of the Advertising Industry’ it has two teams of creative wannabes battling it out to solve advertising briefs to win the internship as well as colour pieces with industry gurus revealing “the good, the bad, and the downright ugly in the world of advertising”.

Home viewers are invited to script, shoot and upload their own TV commercials for one of the brand partner’s products for the chance to win a grand prize of US$50,000.

The Grand Prize will be announced during episode 8 as voted by the home audience.

“The hardest thing about advertising is actually breaking into it. Because its so hard to know people’s abilities just by judging an art folio, or a TV reel. You don’t know how they are as creative people. Are they moody, quiet, surly? Are they Divas? Are they precious?,” said Cummins last yearin an interview with Ice-TV.

“I think a show that exposes the types of people that make up the creative department is a fascinating opportunity to create compelling television.”

Australia’s The Gruen Transfer, [which Cummins auditioned for], has been a ratings sensation for the ABC and the format has recently been sold to an international distributor.