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Celebrity Sell Out

The low-down on celebrity marketing news from Brand Republic

February 24th, 2009 - James Quilter
Sorry: Iggy Pop (right) with Donatella Versace

Pop (right) with Donatella Versace at fashion do

Celebrity Sellout would like to make an unreserved apology to the ‘inventor of punk’ and Swiftcover brand ambassador Iggy Pop. In ‘Rogues Gallery #1′ we suggested that the shaggy popster should ditch appearing in insurance ads and get back to more honourable activity like doing drugs and wrecking hotels. But now we realise that Pop wasn’t flogging the lifeless corpse that is his musical reputation for a few extra pounds, he was in fact rebelling against the… Advertising Standards Authority (ASA).

According to reports, the ASA is investigating Swiftcover’s ad which featured Pop claiming he had no trouble finding his travel documents thanks to his policy with the insurer. The thing is Swiftcover does not insure musicians. This means either – shock horror! – Pop was lying when he said he had a Swiftcover policy or that he is no longer a musician (hmm have you heard him on Death in Vegas’s Aysha?).

However there is a third theory. According to sources in the post-Punk-lets-do-yet-another-reunion-tour sector the whole thing was in fact a rebellious attempt to show up these insurance stiffs and rile the UK’s number one (ok only) enforcer of the CAP code. Rock on daddio!

Ok it’s not quite smearing yourself in blood and peanut butter and jumping naked off the stage, but the spirit is there, kind of. Take note Johnny Rotten (Country Life) and Alice Cooper (Aviva). The only thing we are unsure of is whether Pop is planning to hand back the nice easily-earned sellout lucre. Whatever he does one hopes he will be investing it on booze and drugs rather than in Iron Maiden’s new Soho hotel.

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