The earworm is relentless. It can strike at the most inappropriate moments. Imagine a somber funeral, the lowering of a loved one’s coffin, and amidst the grief, your mind relentlessly chants: GO COMPARE, GO COMPARE. Perhaps you’re on a first date, attempting to make a good impression, and when asked about past relationships, the only response your brain offers is: GO COMPARE, GO COMPARE. Even in the high-pressure environment of a crucial exam, striving for academic success, the vital quote you need is replaced by an inescapable chorus: GO COMPARE, GO COMPARE.
This is the pervasive power of the “Go Compare” advert, a jingle ingrained in the collective consciousness, much like the alphabet or the awareness of societal norms. However, such omnipresence breeds resentment. Gio Compario, the face of the Go Compare ads since 2009, became an unexpected target of public animosity, facing a hate campaign that spilled from social media into the real world. The Facebook group “‘GO COMPARE! GO COMPARRRREEEEEE’ ‘GO FUCCK OFFFFFF’” amassed a staggering 74,000 likes. More disturbingly, posts like “That fat guy on the go compare advert needs to be shot” garnered thousands of likes, revealing a darker side to public reaction. In 2012, the public voted him the “Most Irritating Man in the UK“, highlighting the intense irritation the character evoked.
Beneath the flamboyant persona of Gio Compario lies Wynne Evans, a Welsh opera singer leading a rather ordinary life in Cardiff. To understand the reality of being the target of such widespread negativity, it’s crucial to meet Wynne Evans and explore his experience navigating over a decade of public resentment, particularly as Go Compare launched yet another campaign in January, promising continued exposure.
Despite hosting a large party the previous night, Wynne Evans welcomed me into his home with disarming warmth. He navigated his kitchen, still slightly weary from the festivities, and recounted how he became the unexpected star of the Go Compare commercials.
“My dad was a farmer turned carpenter, but he truly had the soul of an opera singer,” Wynne explained, settling into conversation over tea. His upbringing in a small Welsh town, with a mother deeply involved in amateur dramatics, nurtured his passion for performance. He honed his talents at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, establishing himself as a respected opera singer with the Welsh National Opera, performing leading roles in classics like L’elisir d’amore and La bohème. His entry into advertising was serendipitous; a friend’s suggestion led him to become the singing voice for Gary Lineker in a Walkers crisps advert. This success opened doors, and an agent soon contacted him about an audition for Go Compare, a then-emerging price comparison website.
Initially, Go Compare envisioned a different persona – a slender, agile figure, with Wynne only intended to be the voice behind the jingle. However, Wynne’s audition revealed an undeniable charisma that captivated the casting team. His on-screen presence was so compelling that they decided to cast him as the face of Go Compare, Gio Compario, altering their initial concept entirely.
The now-infamous Go Compare jingle was a playful adaptation of the First World War anthem “Over There,” originally a call to arms. Wynne injected humor and improvisation into his performance, creating a catchy and instantly recognizable tune. He left the shoot content with his paycheck, unaware of the cultural phenomenon that was about to erupt.
The scale of the reaction was unprecedented. While vacationing in France with his family, Wynne encountered the burgeoning storm of online commentary. Social media was ablaze with reactions ranging from critiques of his appearance to violent threats. His then-wife and others urged him to disconnect, but the allure of the comments was addictive, a dark curiosity that proved difficult to resist.
“I was utterly crushed by the response because I genuinely thought people would find it amusing,” Wynne confessed. “Within minutes of the advert airing, hate groups dedicated to me sprung up across social media. It became a morbid habit; I’d wake up each day and sift through the negativity. It was truly awful.”
The sheer frequency of the Go Compare advert played a significant role in the backlash. In 2010, Go Compare invested heavily, approximately £28 million, to ensure Gio Compario’s inescapable presence across media platforms. By 2013, the jingle had become the most played music in UK advertisements. Public saturation reached a breaking point, and social media provided a direct outlet for expressing this collective irritation directly at Wynne Evans.
Beyond the personal sting of hateful comments, Wynne faced financial anxieties. He had received a substantial sum for the campaign, a life-changing amount at the time. “It wasn’t an enormous fortune, but it was the largest single payment I had ever received,” he explained. “I was convinced it was over, that they would never ask me back after this backlash.”
His concerns extended to the company itself. “Go Compare was like a start-up when I began, just a small team of about 20 people,” Wynne recalled. “I felt like I had let them all down.”
Upon returning from France, Wynne braced himself to face Hayley Parsons, the CEO of Go Compare, anticipating the worst. He walked into her office and immediately apologized. “I said, ‘I’m so sorry, this is a disaster,’” Wynne recounted. Parsons’ response was far from what he expected. “Wynne,” she stated, “we’ve quadrupled our profits by 500 percent.” Go Compare had transitioned from financial losses to substantial profits within six months of the campaign launch. An advertising executive later clarified the seemingly paradoxical situation: “Annoying is just another word for effective.”
The advertising agency, DDB, understood the power of disruptive advertising. Instead of focusing on detailed product explanations, they aimed for ads that were memorable, even if irritating, embedding themselves in the public consciousness. DDB’s portfolio included other iconic, albeit sometimes divisive, campaigns like the Smash Martians and the Direct Line red telephone, demonstrating their expertise in creating impactful, attention-grabbing advertising.
“I remember one of them telling me the night before the first advert aired, ‘Tomorrow, your life is going to change forever,’” Wynne recalled. “But I didn’t truly grasp the magnitude of what they meant.”
The remarkable success of Gio Compario prompted Go Compare to swiftly commission a second wave of advertisements. This time, they cleverly leaned into the public’s annoyance, acknowledging Gio’s irritating nature head-on. One advert featured Ray Mears trapping him in a hunting net, another depicted Stephen Hawking creating a black hole to engulf him, and a third showed Sue Barker shooting him with a bazooka. Each concluded with the tagline “Go Compare: Saving the Nation,” humorously suggesting that eliminating Gio would bring national relief.
While capitalizing on the very hate directed at Wynne Evans might seem insensitive, he possessed a remarkable ability to take it in stride. He recounted meeting Stephen Hawking on set with amusement. “You’re thinking, ‘how do you even have a conversation?’ You’re talking to arguably the most brilliant mind on the planet, and I probably sound like an idiot.” As Wynne turned to leave, Hawking delivered a memorable line, “Hasta la vista, fatty.” Wynne’s reaction was not offense, but laughter. “I thought it was hilarious. He was a genuinely funny man.”
Wynne’s self-deprecating humor frequently touched upon his weight. He joked about not needing a fat suit for the Gio Compario role and even turned the tables on body image anxieties, quipping that his appearance shielded him from the online impersonation issues faced by conventionally attractive figures. Whether this was purely humor or a coping mechanism shaped by the negativity, it was a recurring theme.
However, even Wynne found some of the self-deprecating ad content challenging. “I wasn’t particularly thrilled about being shot,” he admitted, a slight tightening of his lips hinting at unspoken discomfort. Public reaction to the violent content was also significant, with over 40 complaints regarding the distressing nature of the Sue Barker advert. “Sometimes I pretend it doesn’t bother me,” Wynne confessed, “but it does, really.”
Wynne discovered a surprisingly effective strategy for dealing with online trolls: direct engagement. By responding to negativity, he forced trolls to confront the human being behind the screen. Often, this simple act of acknowledgment diffused the hostility.
“Once, I replied to a persistent troll who was always abusive, explaining, ‘Look, I’m paying a mortgage, I’m an opera singer, and I’m in a Go Compare advert – use it if you want, don’t if you don’t. But this negativity is pointless.’ We actually ended up bantering back and forth, met for a beer, and became good friends. Sadly, Jeff, the troll, is no longer with us, but he even went on to host a radio show.”
Another instance occurred after Wynne sang at the opening of the new Tottenham Hotspur stadium. “Someone tweeted, ‘You spend a billion on a stadium and all you can afford is the Go Compare man?’” Wynne recounted. “I followed him, we started chatting, and the negative comments stopped. He just needed to realize I was a football fan, just like him. People are generally decent, even those who initially seem nasty.”
Despite the initial wave of hate, Wynne expresses gratitude for the opportunities the Go Compare ads afforded him. “People constantly ask me to sing the jingle, and I always do because it bought me my house, gave me financial stability. Why would I resent that?” The financial security from Go Compare enabled him to acquire multiple properties, host a radio show, release albums, and provide unique experiences for his family.
In a recent Go Compare advert, Gio’s character seemingly meets his demise in a car crash, prompting complaints about the potentially distressing content. However, Wynne, living comfortably with the benefits of his Go Compare fame, maintains a positive perspective. While online negativity still registers, it no longer carries the same sting.
“People can say what they like. I have my friends, my family, I know who I am,” he stated. “The first insult hurts deeply, but after a thousand, it loses its power. Now, when I hear people complaining about online comments, I think, ‘You should try being the Go Compare man for a day! It’s a tough world out there.’”
