Bruised and battered Bernie Ecclestone in Hublot ad
Luxury watch brand Hublot has launched a print campaign featuring an “untouched” photograph of bruised and battered Formula 1 boss Bernie Ecclestone taken the day he was mugged.
Ecclestone was attacked by four men outside the London headquarters of F1 on 25 November. The attackers stole £200,000 worth of jewellery, including a Hublot watch.
The print ad features the line, attributed to Eccelstone, “See what people will do for a Hublot”. The one-off campaign is running today (8 December) in the Financial Times and International Herald Tribune.
Ecclestone sent the photo to Hublot chief executive Jean-Claude Biver on the day of the attack and the two agreed to make the ad.
Mark Ritson, Marketing Week columnist and expert in luxury brands, says that the ad will help Hublot’s advertising stand apart from the “boring, product based, generic tat” produced by other watchmakers and jewellery brands during the crucial Christmas trading period.
He adds that the mugging of Ecclestone is not just a PR opportunity but also “bang on its brand”.
“Hublot, which is widely seen as the hottest watch brand in the world right now, is showing the others how to get it done. The brand is built on the “big bang” – a confrontation of unexpected elements in an explosion of energy and power,” he says.
Swiss brand Hublot is F1’s official watch partner. It also sponsors Manchester United.
Separately, it has emerged that David Campbell, chief executive and president of AEG Europe, which owns the O2 Arena, is to join up with Ecclestone at Allsport Management, which runs trackside advertising and sponsorship for F1 across the world.
Campbell has been tipped to take over from Ecclestone as F1 chief executive.
