Compare the Meerkat ("Simples")
comparethemarket.com2009
Compare the Meerkat ("Simples") is a 2009 30-second television commercial (launch of an integrated campaign) for comparethemarket.com, created by VCCP, London.
The line
Simples!
Why it works
Aleksandr Orlov, a self-important Russian meerkat in a smoking jacket, complains to camera that car-insurance shoppers keep turning up at his website, comparethemeerkat.com, when they mean comparethemarket.com, and asks them to stop. VCCP's January 2009 launch spot answered a problem most ads never admit to: the brand sat fourth of four in a category where share followed media spend, and it was being outbid on generic search terms. The Guardian reported that "compare" cost around £12 a click and "market" £5, while "meerkat" cost about 5p, so the joke doubled as a search strategy, backed by a working meerkat-comparison site and Facebook and Twitter accounts for the character. It is studied as a textbook case of a brand character solving memorability and media cost at once, in a category full of shouty price claims. The brand reported a 400% rise in site visits within about a year, and Marketing Week later noted it had become the leading UK motor-insurance comparison site.
Techniques
- Mascots and characters Creates Aleksandr Orlov, a self-important meerkat whose mix-up between his site and the brand's makes the name unforgettable and far cheaper to search for.
- Humour Plays on a one-word pun as the meerkat complains to camera about insurance shoppers wrongly visiting his site, standing out amid shouty price claims.
Sources · 4
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