Budget Direct, the car insurance business has rebranded, complete with a new logo, website, TVC, and a couple of aliens. The new advertising campaign is designed to stand out from what Budget Direct call, “an insurance market saturated with uninspiring, lifestyle imagery.” Michelle, the French-accented songstress, is gone, but the singing remains.

The campaign sees Budget Direct ditch Michael and Michelle (The french woman and the Aussie bloke who feature in the old TV spot) and replace them with aliens Zeek and Zia.

Zeek and Zia are “the highly intelligent alien couple who live next door,” according to the company’s announcement.

“Today, value is the badge of a savvy consumer and, certainly in the insurance category, people want to feel smart in their purchase decisions. The concept redefines the tone of insurance advertising in this country and permits Budget Direct to clearly stand apart in this sector,” says Hans Hulsbosch, executive creative director of Hulsbosch, who completed the rebrand.

“I think a lot of ad campaigns are just wallpaper these days,” says Mike Viner from Liquid Animation. “I like thinking outside the square, and I’m impressed Budget Direct would make such a big leap, because it is out of the box. We’ve worked with Budget Direct a number of times over the years, and it’s been fantastic to develop a whole new set of characters and TV campaign for them.”

The creative concepts on the repositioning project were lead by Hulsbosch while Liquid Animation developed and animated the Zeek and Zia TVCs in collaboration with Budget Direct’s in-house marketing and digital team.

The new ad:

The old ad:

“We wanted a break-out logo, campaign and positioning that clearly differentiates us from the old-school companies, while maintaining the brand personality and communicating why everyone looking for simply smarter insurance should give us a go,” says Jonathan Kerr, director of marketing and digital at Budget Direct.

The campaign will continue to build via additional national TV spots, online display, large-format outdoor, YouTube, search marketing and other tactical activity.