The Today show has found itself in a rather embarrassing spot, after being called out by the BBC Breakfast team for apparently ripping off one of their promotional ads.
BBC Breakfast took to Twitter overnight to post a side-by-side comparison of the two videos, along with the caption adding “we thought this looked familiar!”
The Today ad ran earlier this month, to promote new host Georgie Gardner; the BBC one aired back in 2016, and features Breakfast hosts Dan Walker and Louise Minchin,
Even at a glance, the similarities are pretty obvious:
👀 We thought this looked familiar!!! 😱😉 pic.twitter.com/tiZuDaCQVE
— BBC Breakfast (@BBCBreakfast) January 19, 2018
Both ads begin the same way, with the hosts greeting one another and then saying a personalised hello to a viewer at home. The fourth wall-breaking continues, to the point where both Walker and Stefanovic warn the viewer’s teenage son that his toast is burning in the background.
A representative for the Today show said only that “the promo ran for a short period over the summer period and hasn’t been on air for more than two weeks,” which is very factual, and also not a denial that the ad was lifted from the BBC.
You can see both videos in full below:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=9&v=NAr5gxjl6IU
Georgie Gardner was announced as the new co-host of Today after Lisa Wilkinson‘s surprise exit last year. Gardner has previously worked on the show as a newsreader, and will be returning after a three-year absence, when she took time off to be with her young family.
The show returns with Gardner and Stefanovic on Monday January 22.
