By Jo Best, 27 January 2004 16:55
NEWS Hirsute 70s track star David Bedford has won his case against The Number 118 118, who he alleged stole his image for its advertising personified by the handlebar-tash-and-mullet sporting 118 runners.
Although Bedford claimed that his image had been lifted for the advertising, The Number said that the runners were a generic image of 70s athletes and a nod towards track star Steve Prefontaine, not Bedford. Media regulator Ofcom, however, disagreed.
The watchdog ruled that the singlet-wearing, mustachioed heroes of the advertising were meant as a "caricature" of Bedford in his running heyday, but decided not to go as far as banning the commercials, given that the DQ company had already invested heavily in the ad campaign and Bedford didn't appear to have suffered monetarily as a result.
The Number 118 118 acknowledged that it had looked at pictures of Bedford when dreaming up the runners' images, but protested that the 70s star had posed with the 118 runners in The Sun to promote the London Marathon. Ofcom overruled the objection, saying the athlete had yet to see the commercials at that point.
The legal battle between the runner and The Number doesn't end there, though. Record-breaking Bedford is bringing a private case against 118 118 for damages.
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