a hit and a miss for GoCompare

A week or so ago I was travelling from Bristol to London.  As the coach passed by St. Paul’s (the Bristol one) I saw three or four vandalised billboards.  The ads in question?  They were for GoCompare.  I tried to get a quick snap out the window but it wasn’t to be.  When I later discovered that the billboards were intentionally defaced I was a bit torn.  It was glad I’d see the boards again, but I couldn’t help but feel a little cheated (the boards in question are to the right by the way).  I’ve gotten over that now and can confidently say I’m a fan.

It’s a pretty clever rebrand that takes a page from the Marmite method of marketing.  By being upfront about a quite obvious flaw, be that a unique taste or annoying mascot, you can disarm your detractors and give your fanboys something to evangelise.  It’s also a great way to get people talking and it turns out there are people that like the GoCompare opera singer.

While I’m crazy into these billboards the TV ads switch me off (see what I did there?).  Everything that makes the billboards great, mostly the humour and production values, are absent in from the TV campaign (see below).  The result is grey and joyless with a cheap (yet expensive) ending.  The technical aspects remind me of ‘injury at work’ ads and the irrelevant celebrity cameo leaves me cold.

Overall, a hit and a miss.