Iggy's Misleading Insurance Ad Banned

No fun in Osterbergland... will Iggy be "down on the street" looking for some new car insurance now?

By Fred Mills

Remember that TV ad Iggy Pop filmed for the Swiftcover car insurance company? Sure you do! The one where a shirtless Mr. Osterberg, in full gurning mode, bemoans how important personal papers always seem to go missing ("I haven't seen my birth certificate in years," he mutters - probably not such a bad thing, if you think about it...), but how, thanks to Swiftcover, at least he's got "insurance on my insurance"? It was a pretty eye-catching ad, even by most eye-catching ad standards. You can refresh yourself at this YouTube link (or simply see it, along with his second ad for the company, below).

Well, although Iggy is apparently still working for Swiftcover.com (his image is currently gracing the company's homepage), it appears that there has been some sleight-of-hand concerning the man's actual coverage. Awhile back it was reported that a number of UK musicians who'd applied for coverage were advised by Swiftcover that the company deems anyone classified as an "entertainer" to be ineligible for their insurance.

And today, NME.com is reporting that in the wake of a filing by Britain's Advertising Standards Authority claiming that the ad is "deceptive," the ad "must never be broadcast again in its current form" - essentially, the Iggy ad has been banned.

According to the ASA, "Because the policy was promoted by a well-known musician, which might lead some viewers to believe the policy covered those who worked in entertainment, when it did not, and because Iggy Pop did not have a policy with Swiftcover, we concluded the ad was misleading."

The advertising industry has long used celebrity pitchmen, of course, not to mention attractive actors who portray regular folks in ads. And as a culture, we've become accustomed to a degree of suspension-of-disbelief when it comes to whether or not the person in the ad actually uses the product in question (or, for that matter, actually believes in the lines he or she is reciting). But the ASA does have a point about the ad being misleading, and Iggy does state that he is "Swiftcovered" in the ad. That's a bit different from just gazing into the camera and telling the world that the toothpaste you're holding will make consumers' teeth brighter.

No comments yet from the Iggy camp, of course, and nothing has been posted in the news section of the Swiftcover site either. However, some clever YouTube "answer ads" to the original Swiftcover ad have been posted, including the one below.