Confused.com Explores Mind-Tickling Confusions Such as 'Why Do We Keep Money in Pigs?'

A new creative campaign from Confused.com and Accenture Song brings to life everyday confusions as something to entertain, not avoid.

Inspired by everyday questions that tickle and amuse, such as “Is a hot dog a sandwich?” and “Why do we struggle to walk on a broken escalator?”, the campaign builds on Confused.com’s existing creative strategy which empowers consumers to question the unknown to find answers.

The campaign kicks off with ‘Piggy Bank’, a 30-second commercial directed by Vedran Rupic through production company Riff Raff, which poses the question, ‘Why did we start keeping money inside pigs?’.

Rather than giving an earnest history lesson, the film tells the fantastical tale of a thief in the days of yore, desperately trying to hide his ill-gotten gains. Finding nowhere suitable to stash the gold, his attention turns to a pet pig, who steps up to help at his owner’s time of need.

The hero TV ad is supported by assets in radio, social and digital, with further TV executions being rolled out in coming months, also directed by Vedran. His directorial approach across the series is a delicate but hilarious mix of super silly and super serious, playing off epic genre conventions against animatronic puppets and tiny cheese sandwiches (spoiler alert!).

The instantly recognisable Confused.com riff, performed by the late American guitarist Link Wray, is back – but in some very unexpected ways. These films also introduce a new voiceover artist for the brand: comedian Adrian Bliss, whose funny videos have attracted over 11 million followers across his social channels.

At the same time, Accenture Song has created a fresh and distinctive visual world for Confused.com, with a new graphic device – a thought bubble derived from the brand’s logo which will appear on all films and associated activity.

The new creative platform is also the inspiration for Confused.com’s sponsorship of ITV drama Emmerdale, for which Accenture Song has produced a series of sponsorship idents featuring entertaining Emmerdale confusions - such as ‘Do dogs on TV know they’re famous?’ and ‘How do they cast the sheep?’ or ‘Why are there so many murderers in one village?’.

The idents were directed by Jake Dypka through production company Agile Films.

The creative platform, brand campaign and Emmerdale sponsorship work all mark the first  new work to launch since Zenith took over Confused.com’s media account in November 2021. This marks a doubling down on key brand assets and a determination by Confused.com to own ‘confusion’ by showing it as something to entertain.

Sam Day, Confused.com’s chief marketing officer, said: “There’s so much about everyday life that’s confusing, and really it can be quite frustrating! But instead of looking at some of the hard-hitting, confusing aspects of life, we want people to think about those mind-tickling questions that randomly pop into our heads – things that make you search online for answers! We wanted to create something that proves to consumers that it’s okay to be confused if it leads you to clarity with a platform that really brings this to life.

“While we may not have the answers to some of life’s most confusing questions, we can help people find the best insurance to save them money and suit their needs. With the insurance market as competitive as it is, the thought of shopping around can be overwhelming, but it doesn’t have to be. And that’s ultimately why we’re here, to bring that clarity.”

Vix Jagger, ECD at Accenture Song, said: “We wanted to make confusion entertaining. Celebrate those questions that pop into your head when you’re midway through a parallel park. Things like: ‘what was the first person to milk a cow trying to do?’ And once we hit that construct, the ads wrote themselves. For us this is more than just a campaign, it’s a new platform for Confused.com that celebrates the heart of their brand. Confusion.”

Karmarama, now Accenture Song, has held Confused.com’s ad business since March 2016.