Churchill Insurance Company - The Churchill Dog

The Churchill Dog

In 1994 it was decided that the company needed a mascot to represent the Churchill brand and differentiate it from former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill. A staff competition led to the adoption of a bulldog. The bulldog is a well-known symbol of British identity- appropriate for a company with this name. The first Churchill dog was a real bulldog called Lucas. The company first used a nodding dog in 1996. Churchill began selling nodding dog characters in 1997 and the character is now synonymous with the brand name.

In the company's TV advertising the computer-animated Churchill dog is asked whether he can save people money on their insurance to which he responds with his famous catchphrase: "oh yes!". The catchphrase is believed to be an impersonation of Potter the janitor (played by Deryck Guyler) the 1970s TV series Please Sir!.

Churchill is voiced by Bob Mortimer. Older ads had Mortimer's voice responding to questions posed by his comedy partner Vic Reeves, but Reeves was removed from the ads after he was convicted of drink driving in 2005.

A Churchill hot air balloon was unveiled in 2004 and was the UK’s largest special shaped hot air balloon. It measured 34 metres wide by 24 metres high and stretched wide and far enough to accommodate 50,000 real bulldogs or 1.3 million nodding dogs. The balloon appears at numerous events across the country (notably the Bristol International Balloon Fiesta and the London Marathon).

In recent years talking soft toys have been added to the range of Churchill merchandise and the character has also launched his own page on social networking site Facebook. In 2009 Churchill starred in 22 pantomimes around the UK. In the summer of 2010 he made appearances at Pontins holiday camps before returning for his second panto run.