After the break ... another break: a new channel for advertisement lovers

To some they are the signal to go out and put the kettle on and to others they are an infuriating intrusion into their favourite television shows. But advertisements, the lifeblood of commercial television, are to be given their own dedicated channel in recognition of the number of people who prefer them to the actual programmes.

To some they are the signal to go out and put the kettle on and to others they are an infuriating intrusion into their favourite television shows. But advertisements, the lifeblood of commercial television, are to be given their own dedicated channel in recognition of the number of people who prefer them to the actual programmes.

The Advert Channel will feature shows about commercials 24 hours a day. But only nine minutes per hour of the schedule will be filled with current ads - the other 51 will be taken up by programmes about classic commercials and how they are made.

The venture is the result of two years of planning by Vince Stanzione, a former City worker, and Chelsey Baker, a former lingerie model, actress and karate enthusiast. Ms Baker said the channel would "solve the problem of the UK's unpopular television programming".

"We will be showing ads as a form of entertainment and also from an artistic, creative and cultural level," she said. "And we will be having behind-the-scenes footage of how the adverts are made."

The channel has hired Gigi Morley, presenter of the BBC's National Lottery programme, to be the face of the new station, along with Jeremy Milnes, who appeared as a counsellor in the talent show Fame Academy.

The titles of the programmes ( Ad Chat, Advert Focus, Adverts For You, Adverts Today etc) do not appear to offer the depth and breadth usually looked for by television schedulers. But then this is a station dedicated to people with a serious addiction to commercials. Other shows will be dedicated to television advertising from particular decades and to commercials in different genres (car ads, sports ads etc).

The channel has at least partly been inspired by the growth of websites dedicated to classic ads. Ms Baker claims 4,000 commercials are downloaded every day from such sites.

Naturally, the channel has set up its own site, offering the chance to download current favourites such as Pepsi's "David Beckham's Bad Day", Kylie Minogue's advert for the underwear brand, Agent Provocateur, and the latest Sony campaign "Working From Home" as well as classics such as the "JR Hartley" Yellow Pages ad and Heineken's "Water in Majorca" campaign. They have also compiled a top 10 of the best advertisements of all time, headed by the Guinness "Horses and Riders" campaign.

Advert Channel viewers have also been invited to submit their own camcorder-filmed ads ("maybe an old remake of the Shake and Vac commercial") for the chance of seeing it on the television and winning £250.

The channel, which began broadcasting on Monday will not be fully launched until 6 September. Its logo, a cartoon smiley-faced television, is described on the website as "I Have No Name Yet". The cartoon will appear alongside other presenters including Mike Mason, a veteran of the auction channel Bid Up TV. Lucy Blu, another presenter, arrives at the channel from TopShop TV.

Choosing a list of top ads has long been a favourite topic of conversation in student bars but Mr Stanzione and Ms Baker are also aware of the big money dedicated to many commercials. They anticipate that advertising agencies and their clients will persuade the stars of big campaigns to talk to the channel about the making of a campaign.

Certainly, the advertising industry itself is likely to take a close interest in the channel's progress. Ms Baker said she was looking at appropriate figures from the world of advertising who might make suitable presenters for more industry-related programming.

Mark Borkowski, a media analyst and expert on the advertising industry, predicted last night that the channel would be a "five-minute wonder".

"We don't mind a three-minute break between programmes but the majority of commercials are not that great," he said. "I am sure this idea will generate some publicity but it will soon diminish."

Mr Borkowski noted that the popularity in France of La Nuit De Publivores, a stage show dedicated to advertising, had not translated to Britain. The show, which lasts six hours, shows 500 back-to-back commercials and has been taken round the world, but a British version was not a hit.

He said: "It came to the Odeon Leicester Square and there were all sorts of problems. Not only were not many seats sold but several of the stars of the ads were not happy for their work to be shown as entertainment."

But Ms Baker is convinced she has a market. "Deep down, everyone loves adverts," she said. "How many times have you sat in the pub and heard fierce debates about the best and worst adverts?"

The channel, which is only available on the digital satellite platform (Channel 694) is aimed squarely at telly addicts. It promises: "Adverts that will make you laugh. Adverts that will make you cry. Adverts that will make you mad."

Those who are bemused by the appeal of non-stop ads might be moved to respond with the words of the film director Michael Winner: "Calm down dear ... it's just a commercial."

THE TOP 10: THE ADVERT CHANNEL'S MOST POPULAR CAMPAIGNS

1 Guinness: 'Surfer' 1999

Abbott Mead Vickers: The ad opens with a shot of the intense face of a surfer. With his three companions he braves the ultimate 30-metre wave, topped by galloping white horses. Filmed in Hawaii, the ad featured a real surfer called Rocky and music by Leftfield and Afrika Bambaataa.

2 Smash: 'Martians' 1973

BMP DDB: The metallic space creatures with the infectious laugh found the idea of earthlingshaving to peel, boil and mash their own potatoes extremely funny. So did viewers.

3 Tango: 'Orange Man' 1992

HHCL: A man is drinking Tango when he is slapped by a fat, orange man. "You know when you've been Tangoed" became a catchphrase and led to accusations of copycat abuse in schools.

4 Electricity Association: 'Heat' 1992

GGK: Inspired by the Oscar-winning Creature Comforts, this Nick Park spin-off featured Frank the jogging tortoise, who enthused about electricity in documentary-style interviews.

5 Boddingtons: 'Ice Cream' 1996

Bartle Bogle Hegarty: A sprinter is chased across the desert by an ice cream van. He stops it and is served a pint by the comely Melanie Sykes, who asks: "Do you want a flake in that, luv?"

6 Levi 501s: 'Launderette' 1985

Bartle Bogle Hegarty: Ad made Nick Kamen a star after he stripped down to his boxer shorts in a laundrette to "I Heard It Through The Grapevine", which sent Marvin Gaye's song into the top ten.

7 R Whites: 'Secret Lemonade Drinker' 1973

A man sneaks down to the fridge at night for a rendezvous with R Whites - and his scantily clad wife interrupts him. The ad's appeal led to a revival 20 years later.

8 Hamlet cigars: 'Baldy Man' 1989

Collett Dickenson Pearse: Gregor Fisher stars as a balding man in a photo booth. He falls off the stool and lights a cigar in consolation to the music of Bach's "Air on a G String".

9 Walkers: Gary Lineker 1993

Abbott Mead Vickers: In a twist, football's Mr Nice Guy reveals his nasty side by stealing crisps from children in a string of ads which earned him criticism for promoting junk food.

10 Cinzano: 1978

Collett Dickenson Pearse: Leonard Rossiter starred as a bungling drinker in this series of mini sitcoms which end when he inadvertently throws his drink over his companion, Joan Collins.