Who ever imagined that the Compare the Market meerkat would become such a cult toy. It’s not like it’s even that cute (in my humble opinion) but across Britain thousands of people own a meerkat toy. The meerkat is available when you , buy Compare the Market insurance, or sign up to switch energy or get credit card or loan.

I don’t own one – and I’m in no rush to have one but I do very much want the new soft toy on the block: Vince SnowVole.

You might recall I joined a snow bloggers trip to La Plagne before Christmas, orgainsed by snowboarding and skiing community website SnowVole. Their mascot/logo is Vince, the SnowVole. And now this character has been created as a soft toy. He even has his own Facebook page.

Phil Keith, one of the two founders of SnowVole, told me: “The SnowVole Vince toy is our image, identity and mascot and will soon be our marketing strategy.

“Once the toy is manufactured in around four weeks’ time we will be launching our biggest and best competition to date, where skiers and boarders will be able to buy Vince and photograph him in unusual ski and board locations. The best photos will win prizes. We have already have £200 of holiday vouchers offered by Neilson Holidays and hope to announce plenty more prizes in the near future

“We hope one day that Vince will be so popular that he makes it to shops across the Alps and becomes as much a common sighting as the cuddly marmottes you see in all the souvenir shops.”

To SnowVole: I really, really want one. And I promise to send you a pic of my Vince SnowVole somewhere fabulous in Scotland. (Who ever said I wasn’t a blatant blogging blagger?!)