More like this
Ecclestone fronts ad for the watch muggers stole
‘See what people will do for a Hublot’ says advert starring mugged racing chief
Formula One chief Bernie Ecclestone has allowed an image of his battered face to appear in an advert – for the makers of the £200,000 watch which muggers stole from him in a recent brutal attack.
Above the tagline "See what people will do for a Hublot" is an image of the racing boss with the badly bruised eye he sustained in a mugging in central London last month.
The ad was cooked up between Ecclestone and Jean-Claude Biver, the Hublot CEO. "It was a joke between the two of them. They are good friends," a Hublot spokeswoman told The First Post.
She added that the firm had put the message "Hublot condemns all forms of violence and racism" on the advert, which appears in today's Financial Times and International Herald Tribune, to guard against allegations that it trivialises mugging.
As well as the personalised Hublot watch, the four muggers stole jewellery from Fabiana Flosi, Ecclestone's girlfriend, after laying in wait for the couple and kicking Ecclestone to the ground.
The spokeswoman for the Swiss firm would not say whether Ecclestone was paid for the advert. ·
