Lloyds rethinks role of troubled TV ad frontman

LONDON - Lloyds TSB is rethinking its multimillion-pound brand campaign after the star of the ads, 'Cold Feet' actor John Thomson, made national headlines for smashing up his home in a drunken rampage.

The UK's third-largest high-street bank is in talks with its agency, Rainey Kelly Campbell Roalfe/Y&R, about whether to continue the campaign following Thomson's high-profile problems.

Lloyds TSB executives are understood to have been severely embarrassed by Thomson's recent conviction for drink-driving, as he is currently fronting an ad for the bank's car insurance product.

Thomson, who plays Pete Gifford in the ITV1 comedy drama, also appears in a campaign to promote Lloyds-TSB's home insurance offer. Last week, he was taken to hospital after wrecking his house.

A Lloyds TSB spokesman insisted that no decision had been taken to pull the ads, co-starring Joely Richardson, but he admitted that Thomson's future with the bank was "under review".

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