The popular Compare the Market advert featuring meerkats will be pulled from TV due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Last Thursday, the world woke to news that Russia had begun a military invasion of Ukraine.
The CompareTheMarket adverts, which feature fictional wealthy Russian meerkat Aleksandr Orlov and a cast of supporting characters, have been running since 2009.
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But now, they will be pulled from TV news programming and content related to the Russian-Ukraine war, the Mirror reports.
Meerkat Orlov's catchphrase "simples!" has become widespread in the UK, even being used by former Prime Minister Theresa May in the House of Commons.
But due to the "current conflict", the advert will be pulled.
A CompareTheMarket spokesperson told The Mirror: "The CompareTheMarket meerkats are fictional characters. They have no association with Russia and the current situation.
“We are continually reviewing our advertising to ensure we’re being sensitive to the current situation.”
When cravat-wearing Aleksandr and his sidekick Sergei first hit our screens in 2009, ComparetheMarket was relatively unknown, but it is now one of the most popular comparison sites.
The first meerkat adverts played on supposed confusion between comparethemeerkat.com and comparethemarket.com, but the adverts snowballed from there, and the meerkats have been used to advertise everything from insurance to energy bill savings.
CompareTheMarket even brought out a range of teddy bears based on meerkats from its adverts, which customers could get by buying insurance through its website.
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