Ecclestone Turns Face Bruises into Good Advertising

Bernie Ecclestone proved once more that his mind is money-driven at all times. Even if the 80-year old Englishman went through a terrifying mugging experience last week, he still had the power to benefit from it from a financial standpoint.

As you all know, while returning to the Formula One Holdings headquarters on Princes Gate, Knightsbridge from a nice night out with his girlfriend Fabiana Flosi, Ecclestone got mugged and, in the process, received “a good whacking.” After he was punched in the face repeatedly by the attackers, his incredibly expensive watch was stolen (obviously).

The next day, a photo of Ecclestone with a battered face appeared all over the British media, along with the F1 supremo's confessions about what happened that night. A week after, that same picture was accompanied by a quote, meant to advertise the sport's official watch sponsor, Hublot.

“See what people will do for a Hublot,” read the quote.

For those of you who think this is a joke, better think again. Shortly after the advert appeared in the media, the Nyon-based Swiss watchmaker confirmed in a statement that the photograph and quote attributed to 80-year-old Ecclestone in the advert are genuine. The printed media which will first benefit from the advert are the Financial Times and the International Herald Tribune.

The adverts will be first seen on Wednesday. Talking about it to the media, Indian driver Karun Chandhok, known to be one of Bernie's favorites, said this move was a “classic Mr. E.”