Modern-day billboards are as disposable as the paper they're printed on. They go up, they remain there for as many days or weeks as the advertiser has paid for, and then they're either ripped down or papered over for whoever's taken out the next lease on the advertising space. Back in the old days, they used to be a little bit more robust than that. If you wanted to get rid of an old-school advert, you'd have to dismantle or cut down the entire thing.
The retro market loves it when an old advert that hasn't been damaged by removal appears. Coca Cola adverts appear to be especially collectible, with the most valuable example changing hands for more than $117,000. Beer signs also frequently go for four figures instead of three. If you pass a store and you see one either rotting away or in the process of being taken down, try to persuade them to hand it over to you instead.
To insure one’s house, one’s car or to underwrite a life insurance policy, that is common practice. But who would pay an insurance premium for his/her thumb, legs or smile? Stars, of course.
At the top of the ranking are the legs of Mariah Carey, worth 810 million USD: The diva became, in 2006, the Gillette brand muse for the advertising campaign «Legs of a Goddess». She then took out an insurance policy with London Lloyds to protect her legs, a decision that is far from being insignificant. Among its customers, the London insurer then included several icons of music, such as Bob Dylan or Rod Stewart.
David Beckham’s body insured for 195 million USD: European champion with Manchester United in 1999, David Beckham was in 2006 the most renowned footballer of the planet. In relation to his sporting activities, he took out an insurance cover for his legs. The huge amount paid for his insurance would reportedly exceed the 103 million USD disbursed by Real Madrid for the cover of Christiano Ronaldo in 2009. The fashion model would later extend his insurance cover to his entire body.
15 million USD in insurance for Kim Kardashian’s curves: The curves of Kim Kardashian are her number one beauty asset. The reality TV star, who is crazy about plastic surgery, has underwritten an insurance policy worth 15 million USD to protect her famous butt.
The culinary critic Egon Ronay assured his taste buds: The famous Hungarian culinary critic has insured his taste buds since 1957, for the amount of 400 000 USD. An original insurance policy which allows him to cover his sense of taste without which he will no longer be able to practice his job.