There are many sad ironies about what companies and advertisements will graft in order to sell something. The latest in the most antithetical bands to be chosen to represent a corporation is the Sex Pistols. Before, it seemed that the most horrendous example of music and commerce commingling was the use of The Beatles’ “Revolution” in a Nike commercial, but Virgin Money has outdone everyone in employing images from Never Mind the Bollocks and the single cover for “Anarchy in the U.K.” Really? This is anarchy in the 21st century?
The creation of Virgin Money (which was, believe it or not, founded back in 1995) apparently involves the message: “Introduce a little anarchy to your wallet.” The grotesque mockery of everything the Sex Pistols (and punk) stood for isn’t going to be lost on consumers. I think we’re all very aware of the absurdity of using this particular piece of pop culture on a credit card. What hath they done to deserve such an insulting homage?
And yet, the minds at Virgin Money will probably win out by underestimating the intelligence of the masses, as, invariably, there are going to be people who think it’s très cool to have such an iconic credit card in their pocket. And while the likes of Johnny Rotten may need the cash from the royalties, you can make certain Sid Vicious would have something to say about this type of bollocks. Or would he, too, sell out in order to afford his next fix? And obviously if Nancy had it her way, she’d sell the whole lot of ’em for diamonds or junk. Either way, Richard Branson always wins.
