For a brand that prides itself on its exclusive,
upmarket image, he was not, perhaps, the obvious choice for a new
public ‘face’.
But despite his unequivocally down-to-earth attributes, luxury
car manufacturer Mercedes-Benz has decided to sign a £1million
contract making Wayne Rooney its new ambassador.
The 22-year-old footballer sealed a two-year deal with the
German car maker last week and has already taken delivery of a
brand new customised Mercedes Benz CL63 Coupé worth £121,200.
The deal means the Manchester United star’s new wife Coleen will
be left to drive the rest of his fleet of luxury cars – as the
contract stipulates Rooney must drive only Mercedes to matches and
most training sessions.
Some marketing experts last night questioned the new signing,
suggesting the firm could lose out from ‘chavving down’.
Brand analyst Peter York called it ‘extremely strange’.
He said: ‘Ordinarily you’d expect Mercedes to choose someone
aspirational and classy to advertise its cars, and it’s fair to say
Wayne Rooney doesn’t fit that category.
‘It’s extremely strange. You have to ask who chose him? Was it
someone who has misunderstood his image or was it perhaps a
calculated move to ensure people talked about it?
‘It’s possible it will backfire and put off traditional Mercedes
customers – but perhaps their choice of Rooney reflects the fact
that the kind of people prepared to spend a fortune on a smart car
nowadays are not particularly smart people.’
Rooney will have all the brand’s top-of-the-range models at his
disposal, as well as use of a chauffeur-driven Mercedes to take him
to any public engagements he attends.
He took delivery of his black leather-upholstered eight-cylinder
Coupé on Friday night and took it for its first spin around
Manchester yesterday.
The car, which has a 6.2-litre engine, a top speed of 155mph and
can hit 60mph in 4.5 seconds, was described by Top Gear presenter
Jeremy Clarkson as ‘deadly’.
Fellow footballer Rio Ferdinand and singer Jay Kay drive the
same model and guitarist and singer Eric Clapton has one on
order.
Rooney’s car has a fridge behind the rear arm rest and front
seats with massage function, radar-assisted cruise control, a
night view camera and a ‘keyless go’ function.
The £100,000-a-week footballer drove a BMW 5 Series until
recently and has at least three other supercars – a £137,000
Bentley Continental GT, a £136,450 Lamborghini Gallardo Spyder and
a £177,000 Aston Martin.
His fleet has also included a Range Rover Sport, an Audi A8
Quattro, a Cadillac Escalade, a Porsche 911 and a Mercedes G55
AMG.
A source said: ‘Wayne is chuffed to bits with his new car. He is
a car lover and has a beautiful collection of cars. Now Coleen will
have to drive them, or he’ll have to make do with driving them
off-road as he is only allowed to drive Mercedes to most
events.
‘Wayne’s a big fan of Mercedes and he bought Coleen an SLK 280
for her birthday two years ago.’
A source at Mercedes said: ‘We very much wanted Wayne to be the
face of the brand. Mercedes will set Wayne up as an icon with their
cars. There is an option in the contract for him to feature in some
adverts.’
It is the latest in a string of sponsor deals for Rooney,
expected to earn £100million by the time he hits 30.
Rooney’s spokesman said: ‘I can confirm Wayne has just completed
an initial two-year deal with Mercedes.’
