It means that the brand will part ways with James Corden just over two years after he made his debut in the first work for the brand by Karmarama after it won the brand’s £40m account. The Corden campaign had succeeded ads featuring brand mascot Brian the Robot, created by Publicis London, which debuted in 2013.
The new campaign, “From confusion to clarity”, was again created by Karmarama and starts with a new TV spot that debuts tonight and introduces the end line: “Don’t be confused. Be Confused.com.”
It was created by James Rooke and Imogen Tazzyman, and directed by Aoife Mcardle through Somesuch. The media agency is PHD.
The spot stars actor Timothy Murphy, who has appeared in shows including Sons of Anarchy and True Detective, and represents a significant tonal shift from the somewhat farcical storylines of Corden’s ads.
Murphy plays a calm and collected driver, moving through a heightened urban landscape marked by hectic crowds, frenzied news reporters, an outdoor supermarket and other surreal elements, while lamenting the over-abundance of stimulus and options for consumers in a poetic voiceover.
Confused.com was the first site in the UK to offer price comparison for car insurance when it launched in the UK. It has since picked up major competitors in the shape of Moneysupermarket, Comparethemarket and GoCompare.
Day said the the campaign addressed the fact that the price comparison sector was now replicating some of the issues it was meant to tackle in the first place.
“Confused.com launched in 2002 with a clear mission – to navigate the noise, clutter and confusion when it comes to a sea of insurers fighting for our attention”, he said.
“Since then, price comparison websites have become part of the problem. And we’ve listened. We’re putting the brand back at the heart of the campaign to lead drivers on a clear road through consumer chaos.”
The campaign will also mark a strategic shift for Confused in terms of media. Speaking to Campaign, Day said the brand’s previous strategy had been to “go big on a limited number of channels”, namely TV, digital display and search.
“Fundamentally, I believe in a much more integrated media mix”, Day said. “We’re bringing in VOD, radio and much more work directly with Facebook, YouTube and Twitter.”
