Direct Line established high levels of recall among consumers. In September 2014, the brand worked with Saatchi and Saatchi to relaunch its advertising, using Hollywood actor Harvey Keitel as Winston Wolfe, a Mafia style 'fixer'. The company had one million customers after eight years. The company expanded with a series of new offshoots in the 1990s. In 1995, a Spanish offshoot, Linea Direct, started offering motor insurance in Spain. They expanded into travel insurance in 1996, pet insurance in 1997, and Direct Line Breakdown started offering breakdown insurance in 1998. Their non general insurance products umbrella Direct Line Financial services launched their
Direct Line with Vladimir Putin Direct Line with Vladimir Putin Direct Line with Vladimir Putin (Прямая линия с Владимиром Путиным) is annual special television program and a Q&A show mostly broadcast live by Russia-1, Russia 24, RT and Channel One Russia and Mayak, Vesti FM and Radio of Russia radio stations. It is supported and directed by the Kremlin Press Secretary. The show is running once a year. During Putin's Premiership the show was called Talk with Vladimir Putin. The Continuing. (Разговор с Владимиром Путиным. Продолжение). There is also a Medvedev's equivalent TV show named "Talk with Dmitry Medvedev" (Разговор с Дмитрием Медведевым). During the