Love Island's Success: A Tale of Cultural Tension

This is the latest instalment of a series examining the relevance of key pillars of popular culture, from our dedicated team of qualitative media, technology, and cultural experts.

Love Island is beyond doubt a cultural phenomenon. Bucking the downwards trend of many reality TV programmes, Love Island has experienced unprecedented success.

In this piece we explore what makes the Love Island format different, examining four key cultural tensions at play in the show:

  • Format (Rigid vs. Fluid),
  • Characters (hyper-masculine/feminine standards vs. complexity of individual identities),
  • Values (Puritanism vs. Hedonism),
  • Romance narratives (Courtship vs. Tinderfication).

Download

The author(s)

More insights about Media & Entertainment

Related news

  • Woman stepping onto a plane
    Luxury Event

    Launch of Ipsos Global Influentials

    We are delighted to invite you to an insightful breakfast to mark the official launch of the Ipsos Global Influentials study.
  • Woman doing yoga
    Media Webinar

    Wellness in the Age of AI

    Today’s wellness industry is dynamic, lucrative and growing. But, it's experiencing change, from consumers’ relationships with wellness, to brands’ competitive sets, and now Gen AI.
  • balloon being popped
    Brands Event

    Boom or Bust? A surprising way to look at backlash

    Could brands harness 'polarisation' to lead a category? Could brands be provocative on purpose and set off 'controlled' PR explosions? Join Ipsos & Creative Equals on the 6 November for an exclusive workshop tackling this issue.