2008-09-21 03:15:03 -

- Last night at the new Alfred Dunhill flagship store on 55th St. and Madison Ave. in New York, Piers Morgan and Donny Deutsch fiercely debated the merits of the United States versus the United Kingdom. In the end, Deutsch beat out his cross-Atlantic foe in a tiebreaker with memorable one-liners.

Deutsch's prize was a $10,000 cheque made out

by Alfred Dunhill to the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research in Deutsch's name. In a show of great sportsmanship and humanitarianism, Deutsch agreed to split the donation between his and Morgan's charity, the Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund. But Julian Diment, Marketing Director of Alfred Dunhill, allowed dunhill to have the final word in the inaugural debate by going one step further and doubling the prize money to ensure each charity receive $10,000 each.

The two men debated on six topics, including New York vs. London; Football vs. Football; American Dress Down vs. British Sartorial Elegance; The Power of Advertising vs. The Power of Editorial; The President vs. The Queen; Yellow Taxi vs. Black Cab

The Alfred Dunhill Debate, attended by more than 100 high-profile New Yorkers and British expatriates, was fiery from the start with Morgan, who has worked for some of the world's biggest media establishments, defending the honesty of those in London saying "No one says 'Welcome to London, have a nice day' because we don't say things we don't mean in London."

In his rebuttal, Deutsch, chairman of one of the nation's top 10 advertising agencies, Deutsch Inc. and host of CNBC's The Big Idea, went on the offensive against London's cooking: "We have the best chefs, the best food in the world. You've got such delicacies as black pudding and toad in a hole," said Deutsch.

The line of the night came during the discussion of The Yellow Taxi vs. The Black Cab, where Morgan extolled the virtues of the black cab saying, "you can fit five people in a black; you can fit three in a yellow cab once you've had your legs cut off." That argument effectively won the topic for Morgan.

While Morgan and Deutsch both won three topics each, Deutsch won the debate based on total votes.

Commenting on his win, Deutsch graciously said, "The nice thing is that we both won money for our charities. It was almost a tie. We are very similar, he and I. dunhill was a company with a heart today, which is where you have to be in this world, so it's great to be a part of it."

At the end of the night, Morgan, tongue in cheek, contested the results. "In true American election fashion, "I'm demanding a recount," he quipped. "I'm only kidding," Morgan added. "It was great fun. Dunhill is giving loads of money to our charities, and while I don't like losing to anybody, I'm okay losing to Donny Deutsch."

MEMORABLE QUOTATIONS FROM THE INAUGURAL ALFRED DUNHILL DEBATE:

Donny Deutsch, who was asked to defend The President vs. The Queen: "I forfeit."

Donny Deutsch, who was asked to defend Yellow Taxis over Black Cabs: "New York City taxis are amazing. Where else can you be exposed to so many different cultures, aromas and names without vowels than a yellow taxi?"

Piers Morgan on why Football in Europe is better than American Football: "In American football, players wear enough gear to insulate an apartment."

Piers Morgan on why British Sartorial Elegance trumps American Dress Down: "British men always look better than American men. I always wear suits, and I always wear dunhill. I've met the Queen and the Prime Minister face-to-face wearing my suits. Donny has only been seen by the President once when George Bush turned to his show to figure out how he should solve the war in Iraq.

Please note: Donny Deutsch and Piers Morgan do not represent the views of Alfred Dunhill Ltd.

MEDIA INFO: Beta tapes and photos available upon request

M&C Saatchi Sport & Entertainment
Jonathan Schecter, 646-592-3437
jonathan.schecter@mcsaatchi.com