A Price Comparison Website Special

Hello, and welcome an Advertising Waste special. Prepare to be dazzled, astounded and probably rather irritated by “The All Time Top Five Most Annoying Price Comparison Site Adverts So Far”. I’m Jonathan Crouch, and I’ll be guiding you through the evening’s proceedings. So keep calm, be prepared to quietly count to ten in your head, and I’ll see you on the other side. As for now…

Number 5:



Go Compare- Admittedly I liked the first advert, it was daft and slightly annoying, but contained some rather amusing bits of imagery, and a pun that, despite not really being particularly funny, had me in stitches the first time I saw it.
Sadly comedy is a tough thing to maintain. Keeping and identical tone and similar jokes soon gets old and boring (for example, Little Britain), and whilst they moved the venue the guy was singing in, it remained much the same. Which meant it just became an irritant, rather than funny.

Number 4:



Confused.com- This was one of the first price comparison websites to advertise on television. It was a low budget affair- cardboard cut outs of pints were used in one of them- and spent a lot of time on Digital TV channels, where it costs significantly less to show an advert.
This particular advert sees a chinless man attempting to empathise with the viewer by doing puppy dog eyes in their direction. Sadly this look that may have prompted an equally plain-yet-infinitely-charitable woman to sleep with him at university comes across as more than a little pathetic on his middle-aged, contour-free face.

Number 3:



Money Supermarket- In this ad the famous rich person Peter Jones tells us that we all need to be saving money (whilst self consciously scooting around on what I can only assume is the holodeck of his gigantic mansion). By the end of the advert he tells us through a decidedly forced looking grin “I’m in, shouldn’t you be?” a comment that is presumably meant to be funny because usually he says that he’s out. There’s not a lot I can say about it. Other than it’s annoying. Still, at least it hasn’t ruined my teenage memories. Not like…

Number 2:



Money Supermarket- When I first saw this advert, featuring the superb comedian Omid Djalili, I laughed, and actually enjoyed it.
Sadly the regular repeating of it and with the subsequent adverts’ distinctly similar brand of humour has meant it’s gone stale quite quickly. And has somewhat ruined my estimation of Omid Djalili.

Number 1:

In a shock result, Number 1 isn’t the meerkats from Compare The Market. I love those furry little fellas, and the fact that comparethemeerkat.com is an actual website containing links to Compare The Market, claiming to redirect those who have got confused is a creative way of increasing traffic to their website (it got me on Compare The Market's site and I don't even have a car, although it may not be a good thing to be attracting the wrong demographics- such as those with nothing to insure). But I digress, the most annoying price comparison website advert ever (so far) is this:



Confused.com- Yes, the original annoying price comparison website advert creators have continued to produce work of aggravating standards, this time resorting to what Charlie Brooker once described as "Loser Generated Content". Whilst I understand the importance of testimonials from the public about sites, do they really have to take them from such irritants? First of all, we’re treated to a guy playing guitar, because Confused.com is chummy like that, then we’re met with some black hair dyed git self consciously saying “Oh its recording” before barely stifling a laugh, because he's so happy to be doing this! Before long the advert plunges headlong into various people saying how friendly the site seems to be. This chummy music continues with all the happy people spouting compliments on the ease of use, before the camera cuts back to dyed hair youth drawing a crude smiley face on his hand because confused.com is your bloody friend see?!
Personally I am fed up of businesses (particularly ones which automate as many of their services as Confused.com presumably do) desperately attempting to be friends with the users of their products. Plus I don’t want to be sold stuff by members of the public who have already been fooled into believing this company sees them as more than a large human pound sign. Particularly ones who think drawing a smiley face on their hand is the height of style.

So this is the Top Five as it currently stands. If you think I've missed something, or just want to have a go at me for leaving out those get in touch. And I'll tell you that you're wrong. Simples.