Citro&#235n bares the secret of Schiffer’s feet

Supermodel Claudia Schiffer agreed to drive into a rock face to prove her faith in the Citroë Xsara and its airbags, but drew the line at showing her feet in the latest ads for the car.

Marketing Week has learned that for the campaign which broke in the UK last week (MW April 30) Citroë had to employ a body double because the world’s third richest supermodel does not like her feet.

The controversial ad shows Schiffer stripping as she leaves home to jump into her car and drive off naked. Early in the ad she kicks off her shoes, or at least her double does.

“All Hollywood actresses and models have parts of their bodies that they love and parts that they don’t,” says one source. “Schiffer was not there for part of the shoot because she does not like her feet.”

A second source puts it more succinctly: “She doesn’t like her feet because they are massive.”

Schiffer, who is paid 30,000 a day for fashion shoots and received a reputed $4m (2.5m) for the earlier Citroë ad where she deliberately crashed, also advertises Iceberg, Chanel and Revlon.

A spokeswoman for Citroë confirms the use of the body double but denies that the substitute had been used for other scenes in the ad.