I've heard Howard got a bit big for his boots after appearing in the first ads and started making all sorts of demands, ordering limos, that kind of thing. The ad agency, who had already signed him up for several ads, got fed up with dealing with him and decided to animate him instead. This info comes from a colleague whose friend worked on the account.
I'm on Howard's side, in that case. Plucked from his Halifax branch to star in a major ad campaign, (one of the most popular and recognisable in yonks) but when he starts to suggest that maybe, just maybe, part of that success was down to *him*, and he should be rewarded accordingly (instead of being plonked back in his Halifax branch) -- he gets dropped like a stone. Or rather, he does, but his image still gets used. We should start a campaign.
Howard is a legend in his own right. The little coloured fellow from Halifax is the greatest tv start of all time. In fact, he even makes David Hasselhoff look like a wimp. Your right, he should be asking for more privalaged rights, he should be GIVEN them! a full armoured HAS (howard air service) should be put in place to provide him protection from the evil scum of this world. I have erected a shrine in my bedroom for God Howard. All Hail howard, king of the banks