Compare the Meerkat

[Abbie]

Aww thats so sweet!

[Perdita]

A couple of months ago I wrote an email to Harrods who were selling a limited number of Aleksandr dolls for £19,99 and I wanted one. I just had a phone call from a lady at Harrods to tell me that they were overwhelmed with enquiries and have now decided to donate all 500 dolls to 5 children charities. Although I am a little disappointed not to get a doll , I am happy that they are going to children who deserve them much more than I do.

[Perdita]

He has become one of Britain's biggest stars, an overnight sensation that the viewing public has taken to their hearts.

But exactly how aristocratic Russian meerkat Aleksandr Orlov came to be an advertising entrepreneur will soon become clear when he stars in his first film.

The anthropomorphic animal and his trusted IT sidekick Sergei star in The Journey of Courageousness, a 60-second film chartering the meerkats' journey from the rolling dunes of the Kalahari Desert to the cold wastelands of Russia.

Coming to a TV near you: Aleksandr Orlov stars in his first small film for the latest ad campaign for comparethemarket.com

And although the actual film, which airs on ITV1 on January 3, is being kept tightly under wraps, the trailer will make its debut on Aleksandr's site www.comparethemeerkat.com tomorrow.

And the MailOnline was given exclusive access to show the trailer in all its glory today to tease the meerkat fans about the upcoming advert, a huge departure from what Aleksandr has done before.

Described as a 'meerkat masterpiece' and 'an ad that's more like a film', it is tipped - among the meerkat population at least - to be the biggest celluloid hit since Titanic.

Aleksandr of Siberia: The beloved meerkat poses for the trailer of his latest ad campaign

Peter O'Toole as the lead in the 1962 epic Lawrence of Arabia.

Aleksandr said: 'I am very exited about new films The Journey of Courageousness. Anyones not watching is a moongoose'.

The trailer, produced by Meeramax in association with comparethemeerkat.com, starts with a voiceover which says: 'Long, long ago, in the deserts of the Kalahari, life was simple....'

Aleksandr, who is known for his catchphrase 'simples', then interrupts and demands: 'Stick to the script, Mr voiceover man. It's simples.'

The actor continues: 'One day, disaster struck...' but Aleksandr interrupts him three times to shouts at him to dramatically emphasise the words in a Russian accent.

The voiceover then says: 'And so began a journey, that would push two meerkats to their limits...and beyond', before Aleksandr demands: 'More thrillsy!'

Aleksandr first came to our TV screens in January this year in an advert for comparethemarket.com, expressing his frustration that people kept visiting his website looking for car insurance due to the fact that 'market' sounds similar to 'meerkat'.

Comparethemeerkat.com also turned out to be a real website which allow visitors to compare meerkats and has had more than 3.6 million hits.

Five adverts later, and the introduction of his Head of IT Sergei, Aleksandr has proved to be a nationwide sensation and a record company has expressed an interest in releasing a single.

He has more than 500,000 fans on Facebook and 27,000 followers on Twitter, while on photo-sharing site Flickr there is a popular gallery of Aleksandr's family.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz...#ixzz0b3pDrRSN

I am so looking forward to this

[Abbie]

me tooo!

[Chloe O'brien]

I love Aleksandr, and Sergi especially the one when Sergi is in his naval officer's uniform and pushing the jacuzzi button for Aleksandr. Can't wait to see the new advert.

[Perdita]

THE word "simples" was yesterday poised to make it into the Oxford English Dictionary - thanks to TV's cuddly meerkat.

Compilers of the respected tome admitted the catchprase of Aleksandr - star of the price comparison insurance ads - had taken the entire nation by storm in 2009.

It topped a list of new words that will be included in future editions of the dictionary if ordinary folk continue to use them.

Susie Dent, of the Oxford University Press - who regularly appears on Channel 4's Countdown - hailed it her favourite word of the year.

She said: "Simples has quickly become a catchphrase said by anyone when they mean something is very easy to achieve.

"We may not like it, and it may well not last, but it proves that English is moving quickly and is as robust as ever."

"Defriend", meaning to remove someone from a list of pals on Facebook, is among other new words that may go in - along with "tweetup", a meet-up arranged via Twitter.

The old word "redact", meaning to obscure, came back with the MPs' expenses scandal. Meanwhile a mix of jeans and leggings gives us "jeggings".

The Top Ten words and phrases of 2009 are:1 Simples; 2 Unfriend/Defriend; 3 Great Recession; 4 Staycation (to holiday at home); 5 Tweetup; 6 Zombie Bank (a bust finance institution kept going by taxpayers); 7 Barbecue Summer (duff Met Office forecast); 8 Jeggings; 9 Redact; 10 Paywalls (website content off limits without a subscription)

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage...ictionary.html

[parkerman]

She said: "Simples has quickly become a catchphrase said by anyone when they mean something is very easy to achieve.

Or, in other words, simple!

[Perdita]

Aww, I have just seen the new advert, it is brilliant

[Abbie]

It is Its great

[Ruffed_lemur]

Yeah, love the new advert!