"Representatives of John Terry are taking legal advice after an image resembling the England football captain appeared on cigarette packs in India. The blurred head-and-upper-body image appears above the words Smoking Kills.
The Indian Express said it was part of an anti-smoking drive. The government's Directorate of Visual Publicity said it was unclear why the image was used.
A spokesman for Elite Management, which represents John Terry, told the BBC no consent had been given. His statement read:
"It's been brought to our attention that an image of our client has been used on some cigarette packaging without our consent or knowledge. We've now instructed our legal team to investigate this matter."The Indian Express quoted KS Dhatwalia, additional secretary of the Directorate of Visual Publicity, as saying: "We sent the creative to the health ministry and they then cleared it and circulated it. But how Terry's picture got to be used is not clear ...".
The IPKat wonders whether Terry's image has been used in order to enhance the popularity of the cigarette brand -- or perhaps to emphasise the message that smoking is bad for you. The incident-prone player is now almost as well known for his lack of speed as he is for his unfortunate liaisons and his pugilistic propensities. Merpel adds, up till now she'd always assumed that Terry's chocolate brand had nothing to do with the footballer, but now she's wondering if the legend "whack & unwrap" has anything to do with the footballer's various on-field and off-field activities ...John Terry's Top Ten Misdemeanours here