9 Dec 2010

F1 boss turns mugging into marketing

6:19 am on 9 December 2010

Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone has turned a mugging into advertising by showing off his black eye in a newspaper advert for a Swiss watchmaker.

Ecclestone suffered a head injury after being mugged in central London, his attackers making off with jewellery including his watch.

"See what people will do for a Hublot," declared the strapline under a photograph of the bruised 80-year-old billionaire in publicity in the Financial Times and International Herald Tribune.

The Swiss watchmaker, part of the French luxury group LVMH, said in a statement that Ecclestone had sent the picture to chief executive Jean-Claude Biver with the remark after he was assaulted in London late last month.