(from autosport) Lewis Hamilton admitted he regrets taking part in a pre-Turkish Grand Prix publicity stunt for McLaren title sponsor Vodafone, which brought on media mockery in the UK. Hamilton was hoisted on to stage on high wires, portraying the Greek god Apollo, during a promotional event at the Istanbul set of 'Fires of Anatolia', a show depicting the battle of Troy. And although Hamilton's exploits were broadcast around the world, there has been some ridicule in the media about how the McLaren driver looked. "In the pantheon of ridiculous publicity stunts, it may rate among the greatest," the Times had declared on Friday. "Dressed in his logoed race driving suit, he looked less like a majestic Apollo than a cross between Peter Pan and an astronaut." And now the man himself has conceded that he was not impressed by how the situation played out. "I thought 'that really was not cool'," Hamilton was quoted as saying in the British newspapers on Saturday. "I just turned up and got on with what I've been told to do. Now I've seen the footage and it's one of the worst things I've ever seen. "At the end of the day I have a cool image, and things like that don't help." PR guru Max Clifford told Sky News that he believed the event had not helped Hamilton's image - although it may have been a success for Vodafone. "He comes across like a performing puppet," said Clifford. "This is a guy that should be respected, not ridiculed. "What kind of image is that for a Formula One driver? It might get the sponsor column inches but it's certainly not doing Lewis Hamilton any favours."
Oh no i can see this turning into another bashing thread By the way i have seen several F1 drivers in publicity and TV advertisements that i am sure would also like to forget due to them looking silly. And yes even Mr Schumaker has done silly things over here on European TV, and Japan.
He did nothing wrong. He did what his sponsor asked. If anyone should look bad it is the ad agency that came up with the idea.
"At the end of the day I have a cool image, and things like that don't help." Glad to see he's not taking himself too seriously these days.
Poor kid.. He really looks like a tool. This is the problem when you let the sponsors do whatever they want.
OH MY GOD! That is terrible!!!! Did he almost eat it when he was "landing" on stage? It looks like he did. LMAO oh that poor bastard.
Agreed that the ad agency should be shown the door, but most public personalities have the right to veto anything that would negatively impact their image. So, while he may have done what his sponsor asked, his manager should have played the bad guy and killed it from the get go. If his sponsor had asked him to jump naked through a hoop, should he? CW
Oh my... that looked incredibly silly. I agree. Some heads are gonna roll. If I was him, I'd march upstairs at team HQ and demand they replace their PR firm. Idiots...
He should at least be thankful they didn't dress him up in Howard Stern's "Fartman" outfit. I wonder if the person operating the rigging was the crane operator that lifted him back onto the track at the European GP last year. They've had plenty of practice.
Suppose it's part and parcel of the job, bizarre but no big deal can't understand the fuss about nothing.
Yeah, But DaDooRonRon, face it, he should at least told them that this was the dumbest fncking thing he's ever heard of rather than go along with it. At some point the corporate robot needs to take it upon themselves to state the incredibly obvious.
I just don't get it. What was the point of it? It's not the worst thing I've ever seen. I wonder how much the insurance policy was to hoist him up like that?
It'll all be forgotten after this weekend. But boy oh boy, it gives new meaning to the term "embarassing to watch"!
You said it. Not going to be remembered as one of his shining moments in that end-of-career retrospective in a decade or so.
I thought that WAS pretty cool. Just missing a lyre. Seems the Jerry Lewis landing might have helped in preventing what could have been quite the dancer rumble.
It looked bad for sure, but I think this is just an example of how badly Hamilton's career is being managed. Why would you risk permanent injury for some silly publicity stunt?
