British rock star Billy Idol is the unlikely face of an anti-idling campaign launched in New York City.
“Billy never idles, so why should you?” the ’80s MTV star growls in a public service announcement intended to shame New Yorkers into shutting their engine off.
The platinum-haired singer of White Wedding led a chant of “Shut it off! Shut it off!” at a news conference announcing the campaign in front of City Hall.
Idling your car is so not rock n roll. @billyidol never idles and neither should you. If you do, it will cost you.https://t.co/SM8LR2ZTOw pic.twitter.com/bX6vG7JusW
— City of New York (@nycgov) February 27, 2020
City officials said the 1 million dollar #Billyneveridles campaign will include billboards, TV, radio and social media adverts.
“If you’re not driving, shut your damn engine off!” Idol says in the public service announcement. “I mean, bollocks, are you trying to choke us all?”
New York City law prohibits idling longer than three minutes, or one minute in front of a school.