Smile's car-insurance face was convicted of drunk driving — the brand cut him on the spot

Smile, a Swiss online insurer, had built much of its car-insurance marketing on one face: the influencer and comedian Zeki Bulgurcu, who fronted its campaigns for almost five years. The brand's pitch ran through roads, cars and getting there safely — and Zeki was the familiar figure carrying it.

In summer 2024 Zeki was stopped at a police control; the alcohol test measured 1.2 per mille. In December 2024 the public prosecutor's office of Winterthur/Unterland convicted him by penal order of driving while unfit: a conditional monetary penalty of 40 daily rates of CHF 310 on a four-year probation period, an unconditional fine of CHF 3,100 plus fees. He accepted the order and publicly called it a 'big mistake'.

On March 21, 2025 Smile announced that the partnership was ending 'by mutual agreement with immediate effect': the recently publicised incident stood 'in direct contradiction to Smile's values and its commitment to road safety', even though Zeki had been an important part of the company's marketing strategy. Zeki thanked the brand on Instagram and said other insurers had since approached him — but he was about to take paternity leave and was not interested.

Smile cut Zeki Bulgurcu immediately after his drunk-driving conviction, because a road-safety brand cannot keep a face that contradicts its product.

An insurer selling protection against road accidents cannot keep a face convicted of drunk driving — the contradiction sits inside the product itself

The conviction came as an official penal order, leaving the brand nothing to wait for and no ambiguity to manage

Five years of building one ambassador into a trusted face turned the investment into a liability the day the penal order became public

Smile sold car insurance with Zeki's face for five years; one blood-alcohol reading of 1.2 per mille ended the partnership. When your brand is road safety, the messenger cannot drink and drive.

Zeki accepted the penal order, acknowledged the mistake publicly and promised to act more responsibly; he said other insurers had contacted him afterwards but he declined. Smile lost the face that had anchored its marketing for five years — the price of tying a road-safety brand to one personality.