- MOSCOW: The tough guy image of Hollywood actor Bruce Willis will be used in a new campaign for a mid-sized Russian bank, the lender has said.
- Trust bank, a top-30 lender by assets, hung pictures of the "Die Hard" star on the streets of Moscow on Monday with the phrase "Trust is just like me, but a bank."
The "Die Hard" star replaces Trust's previous frontman, Russian weight-lifter Vladimir Turchinsky, who unexpectedly dropped dead last year at age 46. Trust said Willis's character reflects the bank's values in terms of "trust and dignity." Willis, 55, who plays an old-school CIA agent in his latest movie "RED," will front the campaign for at least a year, Trust said.
"The Moscow call immediately raised their (Willis's agents) interest," Dmitry Chukseyev, who was involved in negotiations with the star's agents and serves as Trust's vice-president for communications, told Reuters by telephone. The bank did not give details on the cost of the deal with Willis, who also occasionally performs as a blues singer.