Comparethemarket pulls meerkat ads from TV news after Ukraine invasion

The price comparison website Comparethemarket has pulled its ads featuring the animated Russian meerkat Aleksandr Orlov from news bulletins in light of Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.

The company, which spends tens of millions on marketing in the UK annually in the competitive market for price comparison sites, said it had reviewed its media plan to make sure the ads did not appear around content such as news bulletins on the Ukrainian conflict.

“The Comparethemarket meerkats are fictional characters,” said a spokesperson for the company, which is owned by the Peterborough-based financial services firm BGL. “They have no association with Russia and the current situation. We are continually reviewing our advertising to ensure we’re being sensitive to the current situation.”

The ads – which feature Orlov, a Russian billionaire meerkat from Moscow, and his sidekick, Sergei – have run since 2009 and have been instrumental in taking the 16-year-old company from also-ran status to one of the top comparison sites in the UK.

Orlov’s catchphrase, “simples”, became so widespread it was included in the Collins English Dictionary in 2010.

The character – who is voiced by Simon Greenall, perhaps best known as Michael the geordie handyman from I’m Alan Partridge – competes against other catchy creations in the price comparison sector including Gocompare’s opera singer Gio Compario, played by the Welsh singer Wynne Evans.

The invasion of Ukraine has put the spotlight on firms using, or selling, products that might be associated with the conflict or Russia.

Last week, British supermarkets came under pressure on social media to rename chicken kievs to “kyivs” to show solidarity with Ukraine, whose capital is Kyiv in Ukrainian, Kiev in Russian.

The US chain Applebees was forced to pull a lighthearted promotional TV ad campaign after CNN aired it as part of a split screen as news coverage showed air raid sirens being sounded in the Ukrainian capital.