Had to go to Wiki to find out who Simon Cowell was (He is a Britisher, it seems). I have heard of Idol but never watched it.

Geico is owned by Berkshire Hathaway, Warren Buffett's company, about as American as one can get. I thought the accent was pure gecko.

True, never thought about British companies before BP's catastrophe, but now I do. BP's atrocious example has hurt UK business reputations (Now I won't buy that Lotus!).