Channel 4 urged to rename comedy series 8 Out of 10 Cats

2 months ago by Chris to c/britishcomedy

This is obviously just a marketing stunt, but...

Cat food brand WHISKAS® has launched a campaign challenging Channel 4 to update the name of its popular comedy show

Cat food manufacturer WHISKAS® has called on Channel 4 to rename its flagship comedy programme, 8 Out of 10 Cats. The show took its inspiration from the brand's legendary advertising slogan from its 1970s campaign which claimed "8 out of 10 cats" favoured the well-known feline food.

However, a new NielsonIQ survey of 300 cat owners shows the famous catchphrase needs updating, as nine out of 10 moggies now prefer its latest recipe.

Fronted by Jimmy Carr, 8 Out of 10 Cats ran from 2005 to 2021 and centred around statistics, surveys and opinion polls

Apparently they want them to rename a show that finished five years ago.

Zombie 36 points 2 months ago

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remon 8 points 2 months ago

Apparently they want them to rename a show that finished five years ago.

Cats Countdown is still going.

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Deebster 5 points 2 months ago

Everyone just calls that "Cats Does Countdown" anyway, so the number is irrelevant.

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essell 4 points 2 months ago

In my circles it's called Catsdown

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i_am_not_a_robot 1 point 2 months ago

Same here!

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glimse 5 points 2 months ago

I mean this with sincerity and no disrespect: I just love how the British shorten their TV shows. I get a laugh every time I hear someone say "they were on Strictly"

I was trying to think of any funny abbreviations we use here in shitland but none came to mind. I'm guessing it's the prevalence of long titles over there

[Edit] SNL, Conan, Colbert, etc. shows like that are the only abbreviations I can think of

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FriendOfDeSoto 0 points 2 months ago

Maybe they should cancel that show too. It would give the host more time to participate in various comedy festivals around the world.

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remon 4 points 2 months ago

Or maybe they should cancel all these festivals so we can get more than 4-5 episodes a years.

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i_am_not_a_robot 2 points 2 months ago

I'm sure the latest run only had two episodes (and then two old repeats) before it stopped!

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Eyekaytee 4 points 2 months ago

no wonder i stopped seeing random new clips on youtube

why’d it stop?

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BananaTrifleViolin 10 points 2 months ago

It became "8 out of 10 Cats Does Countdown" which is still going.

Its cheaper and easier to make a show where the contestants play simple word games and banter, than make a show with current affair questions and researchers. The comedians just turn up and do their stuff, wirhout any researchers or question writers needed. There are still comedy writers of course, as the show does have sketches and bits throughout.

But the games really pad out the show, although personally i find ir a bit tedious to watch. The countdown version runs for an hour while the original ran for 30 mins.

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Eyekaytee 2 points 2 months ago

yeah but they were doing both at the same time weren't they?

As you said 8 out of 10 cats had at least some relevance to the news whereas countdown is obviously focused on numbers/letters

they're completely different shows :( damn

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NigelFrobisher 1 point 2 months ago

Also, current affairs humour tends to have significantly less replay value in the streaming era. You can watch an episode of Have I Got News For You from the nineties and most of the jokes are thinly veiled references to the then-shadow energy ministry having fucked a pie or something.

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i_am_not_a_robot 2 points 2 months ago

I believe Jimmy Carr and maybe the team captains quit the show. I was under the impression at the time it was going to continue with different people, but clearly that never happened.

Edit: Looks like maybe that was back in 2016 and it did continue for a bit: https://www.chortle.co.uk/...

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Eyekaytee 0 points 2 months ago

damn :( im surprised they gave up on it

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