Aleksandr the meerkat has become the biggest must-have toy since the Billy Bass singing fish craze a decade ago.
And "Compare the Meerkat" mania is creating a huge bonanza for soft toy manufacturers.
Aleksandr the meerkat and his chums are the biggest TV advertising sensation of the year and millions of fans want to own their own toy meerkat.
Yet owners at insurance quotes website www.comparethemarket.com have no plans to create official Aleksandr soft toys.
But the TV ads have spawned a huge trade in meerkat cuddly toys - including pirate copies of aristocratic Aleksandr Orlov in his trademark crimson smoking jacket.
Aleksandr burst into the world, with his mock Compare the Meerkat protest adverts in January 2009.
Following the success of his on-screen exploits, Aleksandr, famed for his cheeky catchphrase "Simples!", has 750,000 Facebook fans and over 40,000 followers on Twitter.
And stuffed toy makers are knocking-out look-a-like meerkats to capitalise on the fad.
Online auction sites such as Ebay and Amazon are flooded with fakes wearing dressing gowns, silk pyjamas, and tuxedos.
Meerkat-mania is also taking British high-streets by storm with chain stores reporting a huge demand for meerkat merchandise.
Discount store Poundland sells an Aleksandr look-alike toy as 'meerkat with gown' and they have sold almost 50,000 units in just first three months.
David Coxon, Trading Director at Poundland said: "There’s no doubt that Britain is meerkat mad. Our cuddly ones have been flying off the shelves since we introduced them just three months ago.
"It'll be interesting to see how much longer the passion goes on for. It could get even bigger."
Homeware specialists "House of Bath" have also struggled to keep up with customer demand for their meerkat garden ornaments since their introduction three months ago.
Kate Whittingham-Jones is head-buyer at the furnishings retailer, she said the country's love affair with the scorpion-eating mammals is paying unexpected dividends
She said: "We did not see this coming at all.
"We introduced the product to our customers for the first time this year after our buying team fell in love with them, it really has been meerkat-madness trying to keep up with the high demand.
"Our customers just cannot get enough of them. They must be building their own meerkat manors in back gardens.
"Obviously there has been some excitement around the adverts, and it just goes to show how the meerkat has become a favourite animal in the UK."
Kal Atwal, Managing Director at comparethemarket.com said that the price comparison website don't plan to exploit the markert for soft toy or garden ornament Aleksandrs.
Instead the firm plan to publish Aleksandr's autobiography.
Kat said: "We currently have no plans for another Aleksandr soft toy, however we feel that the public do want to know more about him.
"With this in mind, October sees the launch of Aleksandr's autobiography, 'A Simples Life - My Life and Times'".
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