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Don't Be Told What You Want. Don't Be Told What You Need (John Lydon/Iggy Pop Feature)
Wednesday, 09 February 2011 Written by Rob Burns
Don't Be Told What You Want. Don't Be Told What You Need (John Lydon/Iggy Pop Feature)

Back in the good old days Public Image Limited’s John Lydon sneered at the system with the lyric of “Big Business is very wise. I’m crossing over into enterprise”. Thirty years on the same spokesman for a disaffected generation has appeared in a butter advert. Lydon isn’t the only punk to be labelled as a corporate shill. Iggy Pop is now maintaining his lust for life by doing car insurance adverts. The way things are going Thomas Cook adverts will be accompanied by The Sex Pistols’ ‘Holidays in the Sun’ and Iggy’s 'Passenger' will be used to promote mobility scooters.

These appearances in adverts led to inevitable indignation from the icons’ fans. However, the punk heroes’ responses to their irate fans couldn’t be more different. Lydon defended his appearance by saying he only does things that he wants to do and the advert was tailor-made for him. Iggy has been remorseful about his advert. The insurance company chose him because they wanted a figure that people liked. As a punk, Iggy feels embarrassed by this perception that he is a figure that can be embraced by all. The embarrassment has been compounded by the revelation that the advert implied that Iggy was covered by the insurance company but in reality they don’t cover people who work in the entertainment industry. However we shouldn’t be that shocked at Lydon’s dealings with big business. He has been a property developer and a few years ago all of the surviving Pistols gave Universal Musical Publishing Group (who bought the band’s back catalogue) the backing to maximise the income that their music can make.(eg mobile phone ringtones, action figures etc).

ImageLately indie band Blur’s manager Chris Morrisson has warned pop stars about the danger of music being “corporatised” when they appear in adverts. These words were a response to NERD frontman Pharrell Williams who said new bands should pester marketing and advertising firms to use their music. Pharrel has endorsed a number of products (including vodka and clothing) but his production team Neptune have still maintained their credibility by recently winning the accolade of best producers of the decade in Billboard magazine. However, the Blur manager’s issue is with pop stars appearance (not the use of their songs) in adverts. Blur’s hit 'Song 2' has been used in films, television and adverts and this income has been 20 times more than the actual single’s sales, according to the manager. However, they did refuse a lucrative offer to use their song in a trade conference promoting stealth fighters for an American defence contractor

One of the targets for the Blur manager is Duffy who appeared in a Diet Coke advert a couple years back. If you check out the making of the Diet coke advert on Youtube, the Ad Direct or is claiming that Duffy is real and believable. The advert though shows Duffy performing the realistic activity of riding a bicycle through a supermarket. The only believable aspects of the advert are Duffy not wearing a safety helmet and reflective clothing whilst she rides the bike. Unfortunately this disregard to health and safety brought complaints from the general public. The advert was withdrawn for a short period. The Advertising Standards Association concluded that whilst the advert was “unreal and fantastical”, the advert could continue to be shown on the screen.

Iggy Pop and John Lydon have had long careers in the public eye and with long careers come the odd poor decision. The significance and legacy of the Sex Pistols and PIL outweigh Lydon’s decision to appear in the odd advert and celebrity reality show. The film ‘Trainspotting’ used Iggy’s ‘Lust for Life’ to promote the film, and this turned on a new generation to the singer. If Michael Jackson was still alive, he could tell you about the danger of pop stars in adverts (especially ones involving Pepsi Cola and dodgy pyrotechnics). Duffy’s Diet Coke commercial shows that adverts have the danger of popping the credibility of a new talent before it has had a chance to develop properly.
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