History Advertising / CompareTheMeerkat

** Oleg and Anaya, who haven't been seen for a while and have been replaced by Aleksandr's nephew, Carl, a wombat.

* ChargeIntoCombatCut: During "Battle Of Fearlessness"

* ExplosiveInstrumentation: The new IT department computer.

* PietaPlagiarism: After it looks like Vitaly died in battle.

* PurelyAestheticGlasses: Worn by Sergei

* SpyCatsuit: Standard dress for Agent Maiya.

* UnclePennyBags: Aleksandr is presented as an example of this trope

* WhatWereTheySellingAgain: The advertisements are far more recognisable than the website they advertise, focusing way more on meerkat lore than car insurance.
** In a possible attempt to avert this, the Australian version of the campaign has Aleksandr buying out and running the Australian Compare the Market company and website.

''Comparethemeerkat.com'' is a series of adverts and a website designed as nothing more than ViralMarketing for an insurance website (comparethemarket.com). The adverts all take a similar format, Aleksandr Orlov, a russian-accented meerkat, will remind viewers that his website is for comparing meerkats, and not for finding cheap insurance and urge viewers to check they have the correct URL. Then deliver his {{catchphrase}} -- "Simples."

* CatchPhrase: Aleksandr ends most ads with, "Simples!"

** Sergei's debut commercial ends with him saying "Simples!"

* BorrowedCatchphrase:
** In one of the village ads, the schoolchildren say "Simples!" instead of Aleksandr.
** In one of the [=AutoSergei=] ads, [=AutoSergei=] says "Simples" instead of Aleksandr, [[HeyThatsMyLine prompting Aleksandr to protest.]]

* CatchPhrase: Aleksandr ends nearly every ad with, "Simples!"

* FatIdiot: Carl the Wombat. He's a chubby wombat, who is klutzy and completely lacking in social awareness who manages to break Aleksandr and Sergei's stuff or intrude on social situations. Remember; don't Wombat it, Meerkat it.

%% * ChargeIntoCombatCut: During "Battle Of Fearlessness"

%% * ExplosiveInstrumentation: The new IT department computer.

%% * {{Lzherusskie}}: Aleksandr and Sergei

* PietaPlagiarism: After it looks like Aleksandr's great-grandpappy died in battle.

%% * PurelyAestheticGlasses: Worn by Sergei

%% * RidiculouslyCuteCritter: Ridiculously Cute Meerkats

%% * SpyCatsuit: Standard dress for Agent Maiya.

* BerserkButton: Aleksandr blows up over people confusing his website with Compare The Market. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7DGaFEWky0w You want MARKET!!!!!]]

* OnlyAFleshWound: During "Battle Of Fearlessness", Aleksandr's great-grandfather is wounded and Sergei's great-grandfather holds him and screams to the sky. Aleksandr's great-grandfather sits up and says:

* RandomSpeciesOffspring: Aleksandr's nephew Carl, introduced in 2023, is a wombat. Sergei questions this, but doesn't get an explanation.

* ShoutOut: One advert has Aleksandr and Sergei recreate the famous "I'm flying, Jack!" moment from [[Film/Titanic1997 Titanic]].

* SkywardScream: Sergei's great-grandfather screams a BigNo when he believes Aleksandr's great-grandfather has been killed in battle.

--> "Ours is a simples lives, what could possibles go wrong?" '''cut to sand storm'''

%% * UnclePennyBags: Aleksandr is presented as an example of this trope

* OnlyAFleshWound: During "Battle Of Fearlessness", Aleksandr's great-grandfather is wounded and Sergei's great-grandfather holds him and screams a BigNo to the sky. Aleksandr's great-grandfather sits up and says:

''Comparethemeerkat.com'' is a series of adverts and a website designed as nothing more than ViralMarketing for an insurance website (comparethemarket.com). The adverts all take a similar format, meerkat entrepreneur Aleksandr Orlov will remind viewers that his website is for comparing meerkats, and not for finding cheap insurance and urge viewers to check they have the correct URL. Then deliver his {{catchphrase}} -- "Simples."

The campaign achieved massive popularity and developed short plots within the campaign, such as a rivalry with a human Compare the Market representative or Aleksandr and Sergei becoming parents. Aleksandr and his beleaguered assistant Sergei soon became Compare the Market's {{mascot}}s, promoting new offers like "Meerkat Movies" and "Meerkat Meals."

''Compare The Meerkat.Com'' is a series of adverts and a website designed as nothing more than ViralMarketing for an insurance website (comparethemarket.com). The adverts all take a similar format, Aleksandr Orlov the Meerkat will remind viewers that his website is for comparing meerkats, and not for comparing markets and urge viewers to check they have the correct URL. Then deliver his {{catchphrase}} -- "Simples."

* {{Retcon}}: Of a sort. After years of trying to get car insurance customers off his website and out of his life, Aleksandr releases a new advert which... offers a free meerkat toy to anyone buying from comparethemarket.com. It's described as a thank you for ''not'' clogging up his site, but it still comes across as working with his greatest enemy. (The next twist was that Maurice (Aleksandr's opposite number at comparethemarket ''hates'' the meerkat toys and want them stopped). This got even more confused in the Meerkat Movies and Meerkat Meals era, until the introduction of [=AutoSergei=] in 2020 seemed to make it official that Aleksandr and Sergei are now working for Compare the Market.