Advertising bastardry, part somethingtysomething: Direct Line

A few weeks ago, a new Direct Line insurance advert aired showing two twin brothers (whether played by actual twins, or one actor with a splitscreen effect, I neither know nor care). Tom, the narrator, is with Direct Line, while his twin brother Jack isn't. When their identical cars get hit at the same time in the same way, Tom's insurance pays for his repairs but Jack has to fork out something like £300 of his own money. Fair enough.

Then, two more adverts appear. First, Jack and Tom's houses both flood, and Jack once again has to pay through the nose, to the tune of £500. Then, their dogs swallow chew toys and, guess what, Jack isn't covered, so he has to pay £1000 in medical bills.

So, obviously Tom hasn't told his identical twin brother, who he lives next door to, about how to change to his insurer. As a result, said brother is out of pocket for £1500 in two weeks.

Direct Line: insurance for total gits.