Tony Armstrong slammed by ABC for allegedly not getting ‘green light’ to work on NRMA Insurance ads
Tony Armstrong has been blasted by his own employer regarding a side gig the presenter did with NRMA Insurance.
Covered on Media Watch on Monday evening, host Janine Perrett claimed that Armstrong – who announced last week he would be leaving ABC News Breakfast this Friday – did not get clearance by the national broadcaster to do the voiceover work for NRMA.
Though Perrett conceded many ABC presenters have conducted “outside work” like corporate MC work, she claimed that Armstrong did not seek the proper clearance on this occasion.
“Putting aside whether doing such corporate work is advisable – for ABC journalists, we think it is problematic – voicing a commercial is a whole other game,” Perrett said.
“We asked the ABC if it knew about Tony’s side gig and if he got the green light to do it. Astonishingly, he did not.”
Armstrong has voiced the NRMA Insurance ads since July.
Perrett told viewers that the ABC said in a statement to Media Watch that Armstrong’s voiceover work without its consent was a “misunderstanding”, which the host slammed.
“How any ABC reporter could voice a commercial for one of the biggest brands in Australia and not think that is a conflict, is beyond us,” she said.
“If this is not a breach of the guidelines on external work, which says you must seek approval from above, we don’t know what is.”
Mumbrella has contacted ABC, NRMA Insurance and Armstrong’s representation for comment.
The news comes after Armstrong announced plans to wrap up his time on ABC News Breakfast this week, after first joining the show as a fill-in sports presenter in 2020. He went on to win the Graham Kennedy Award for most popular new talent at the 2022 Logie Awards, and the 2023 Bert Newton Award for Most Popular Presenter.
It’s expected that Armstrong will front a new ABC show in 2025 to be announced soon.
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Neil Griffiths is the Managing Editor of Mumbrella. He joined the company in October 2023.
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