Yahoo Finance Billy Idol Takes on Corporate America's Use of 'Rockstar' in 'Really Fun' Super Bowl Ad for Workday
Billy Idol may be known for his rockstar antics, but trashing hotel rooms in 43 countries? That's a bit of a stretch, even for him.
Still, the "White Wedding" punk rocker, 67, is keen to poke fun at his rebellious ways — including the maybe-less-than-43 trashed hotel rooms — and does so in a new Super Bowl commercial for the enterprise software company Workday.
In the hilarious clip, Idol is joined by fellow musicians Ozzy Osbourne, Joan Jett, Paul Stanley and Gary Clark Jr. as they set out on a mission to reclaim the word "rockstar" from corporate America, where it's often used to describe standout employees.
"It's really fun to poke fun at yourselves," he tells PEOPLE. "Ozzy and me and Joan and Paul, we all have kind of very identifiable images, so it's fun. I enjoyed that in The Wedding Singer, taking my persona and having fun with it. I enjoyed that then, and it's really fun doing the Super Bowl commercial."
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Courtesy of Workday Billy Idol
The rocker continues: "If you can't see there's an element of humor in what we're doing, then I think we're doing something horribly wrong. I mean, we're serious, but there is definitely an element of humor. That's a big English pastime, is taking the mickey."
Idol, who last month received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, appears in the ad in a demolished hotel room, where he chucks a lamp through a TV and says, "I trashed hotel rooms in 43 countries," before sauntering down the hallway with a chainsaw in hand.
Elsewhere in the clip, Clark shows off his impressive guitar skills to "Liz in HR," while Stanley drops in on a corporate meeting in full KISS garb to ensure that no executives are calling their underlings "rockstars," as they haven't earned the right to it.
Courtesy of Workday Billy Idol
"It's a bit of an exaggeration, but I did have my moments breaking up hotel rooms in the late '80s," Idol says of revisiting his wild ways. "We did that back then and it was a lot of fun at times, but I don't do things like that anymore. It may not have been 43, but I did my fair share."
The clip was a chance for the British punk rocker to reflect on his life's path, and says he was reminded that a desk job and a cubicle was "exactly what we were trying to avoid" by pursuing music as a career.
"Back in the '70s in England, they were really telling you there was no future, there aren't any jobs. That's what they were telling us. So we had to create our own future, and I think one of the ways we could do it was by… I love music, so I just decided I'm going to be in a rock group, whether I make it or not," he says. "Whatever happens, I don't care. I'm just going to do it. If it lasts six months, okay. If it lasts a year, great. If it lasts two years, amazing. And here we are 47 years later. It just shows you, if you do the thing you love sometimes, it pays off. It's a gamble, but all life's a gamble."
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While Idol didn't get to hang out on set with his rocker pals, he did get a chance to see Osbourne's wife Sharon.
"Joan and Ozzy and Paul… we had the same manager at one point, so I've known those lads for a long time," he says. "It was a fun experience. I think it's going to be a little bit of fun in the middle of the Super Bowl."
Idol's Workday commercial will air during Super Bowl LVII, when the Kansas City Chiefs take on the Philadelphia Eagles on Feb. 12 in Glendale, Arizona.
