Lord Prescott is punching his weight in ad

Hiring pugilistic ex-deputy prime minister Lord Prescott in a new TV advertising campaign is boosting sales at comparison website Moneysupermarket.

Revenues in key areas such as car and home insurance and savings are "all ahead by around 20%", said chief executive Peter Plumb.

Moneysupermarket, which uses comedian Omid Djalili as the face of the company, has also increased by 20% its spending in what it calls "offline" advertising - principally TV - to build the brand.

A new ad, launched today, features Starksy & Hutch actor David Soul, and Moneysupermarket is also the new sponsor of ITV's Britain's Got Talent.

Revenues rose 9% to £148.9 million last year, with pre-tax profits more than trebling to £11 million.

Plumb is seeing a jump in consumers looking for savings products and paying off credit card debt.

Travel has also returned to growth.