Motor insurance: Swiftcover's Iggy Pop advert banned

An advert for car insurance featuring singer Iggy Pop leaping about and boasting he has "insurance on his insurance" was today banned by the advertising watchdog.

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) ruled that the swiftcover.com advert was misleading following complaints the singer would not have been able to buy cover since the insurer excluded people working in the entertainment industry.

The ASA received 12 complaints about the advert from viewers who said it was misleading because it was suggested Iggy Pop was insured by swiftcover.com. In the advert, the musician said: "I got it swiftcovered. I got insurance on my insurance!"

Swiftcover.com, which is owned by AXA, said the advert made no reference to his occupation and that he had been chosen because he had a reputation for living life to the full. It said the star had not stated he had a policy with the insurer.

But the ASA upheld the complaints and ruled the advert could no longer be broadcast in its present form. It said: "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."

Swiftcover.com said the advert had been a huge success with sales rising by a third in the first quarter of 2009. It added it had seen an increase in interest from musicians looking for cover, and was therefore set to make its policies available to that group for the first time. However, other people working in the entertainment industry will continue to be excluded.

The firm said it planned to keep Iggy Pop in its adverts. "Iggy Pop and swiftcover.com have made motor insurance interesting for a change, increasing awareness of swiftcover.com and sending our sales soaring by almost a third, so we would be crazy to lose Iggy," spokeswoman Tina Shortle said.