Cuddly Meerkat Toy Now Available on Credit Cards and Loans From comparethemarket.com

LONDON, January 25, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --

- One claim every 30 seconds -

In just 6 months over 500,000 people across the UK have already received a free meerkat toy based on characters from the popular  compare themarket.com advertising campaign and the fun is set to continue with the launch of Simples Rewards on credit cards and loans too, the company revealed.

The new credit card comparison service is unique in the market, showing customers exactly how much they could save on interest payments by switching credit cards. Simple and intuitive tools enable credit card customers to enter their own details such as their current APR and balance transfer amount to get personalised results. Similarly, comparethemarket.com's new price comparison service for loans allows customers to view the repayment figure based on their individual requirements.

From 12th January all customers who successfully apply for credit cards or loans through comparethemarket.com will be eligible to receive an exclusive Meerkovo toy*.  

Demand for the toys has continued to increase since the start of the campaign in July 2011, with around 7,500 of the furry meerkat toys being delivered to expectant customers each day. To date hundreds of thousands of people have claimed a toy at the rate of one every 30 seconds. The toys have proved to be a major hit on eBay too, with buyers bidding up to £200 per toy!

Under the Simples Reward scheme, any customer who has bought car, van, bike, home, pet or life insurance or been successfully approved for a credit card or loan through comparethemarket.com are eligible to claim a free meerkat toy by logging on to http://www.meerkovo.com.

Once the customer claim has been verified the Postkat picks a toy at random, packs it, then the toy begins its long haul journey from Meerkovo. Customers can watch the toys progress live on http://www.meerkovo.com.

The range of six toys features the original characters - Aleksandr and Sergei - as well as some new faces from Meerkovo, including: Bogdan, the meerpup; Vassily a regular rocker at the Queasy Mongoose pub; Maiya, the schoolteacher; and Yakov the toymaker. All toys come in their own individual presentation box, accompanied by a certificate of authentication. The toys are not on sale anywhere and the only way consumers can receive one is by making a purchase via comparethemarket.com.

*Maximum of two credit card claims in a 6 month period. Terms and conditions apply.

About Meerkovo and Simples Rewards

Meerkovo, a small village based just outside of Moscow, is the home of best-selling author and founder of comparethemeerkat.com Aleksandr Orlov.  

Meerkovo is going through troubled times because people in the UK keep confusing comparethemeerkat.com with comparethemarket.com when looking for cheap deals on insurance. This is clogging up the meerkat comparison site, so to try and solve this confusion Aleksandr asked Sergei, his trusty IT assistant, to build Meerkovo.com to provide fans with the opportunity to see Aleksandr's home village.

Now Aleksandr has launched Simples Rewards, a scheme to reward people who know the difference between meerkat and market. From 4th July, the meerkats of Meerkovo have been giving everyone who buys car, van, pet and home insurance through comparethemarket.com the chance to claim a free meerkat toy at meerkovo.com.

The range of six toys comprises: Aleksandr; Sergei; Vassily, the pub rocker; Maiya the school mistress; Bogdan, the meerpup; and Yakov, the toymaker.  

The Simples Rewards scheme is subject to terms and conditions.

About Aleksandr Orlov

Meerkat entrepreneur Alesksandr Orlov first hit our screens in January 2009. He became an internet phenomenon overnight and today has nearly 800,000 Facebook fans and almost 50,000 Twitter followers. Over 50,000 people enquired about buying the original Aleksandr soft toy when it was produced exclusively for Harrods in 2009, while his iSimples was downloaded over 750,000 times. Aleksandr's "A Simple's Life" sold over 500,000 copies, hitting the No.1 spot in the Christmas bestseller list 2010 and outselling autobiographies, Tony Blair, Katie Price, Michael McIntyre and Keith Richards.

About comparethemarket.com

• comparethemarket.com was launched in 2006 and has grown rapidly over the past six years to become one of the UK's leading price comparison websites.  
• comparethemarket.com provides customers with an easy way to make the right choice for them on a wide range of products including motor, home, life, travel and pet insurance as well as utilities and money products such as, credit cards and loans.
• comparethemarket.com actively selects its brand partners, working with the best and most trusted organisations to ensure quality service to consumers.

comparethemarket.com is a trading name of BISL Limited. BISL Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority.

Registered Address: Pegasus House, Bakewell Road, Orton Southgate, Peterborough, PE2 6YS. Registered in England number 3231094.