Pulling a fast one? Tobacco giant in F1 ads probe
F1 sponsor faces probe as Government adviser claims clever design breaches advert ban
GIANT tobacco firm Philip Morris could face an official investigation over allegations that it is illegally advertising its brands to British customers.
The Mail on Sunday can reveal that the maker of Marlboro and Benson & Hedges cigarettes has been reported to telecoms watchdog Ofcom for displaying one of its brand’s logos on Formula 1 racing cars and driver uniforms.
Our investigations also found evidence that both Philip Morris and rival firm British American Tobacco (BAT), which is listed on the FTSE100, are signing up social media ‘influencers’ to promote vaping products and heated tobacco devices.
John Britton, a professor at Nottingham University and health adviser to the Government, claims the firms have broken UK laws that have banned tobacco marketing and sports sponsorships.
Philip Morris introduced its ‘Mission Winnow’ branding to Ferrari cars and uniforms last year. Mission Winnow is a marketing arm that promotes Philip Morris’s drive towards alternatives to traditional cigarettes. Racing fans on online forums have commented that the ‘M’ and ‘W’ letters in Mission Winnow have been combined to create a chevron that is reminiscent of Marlboro’s logo.
Alex Barker, a colleague of Professor Britton at the University of Nottingham, has lodged a complaint with Ofcom about the broadcast of the five races that featured Ferrari cars with Mission Winnow branding.
The complaint, seen by The Mail on Sunday, cites research claiming the Mission Winnow branding resulted in UK children under the age of 16 were exposed to tobacco advertising on 22 million occasions. Philip Morris’s sponsorship of Ferrari is believed to be worth $160million (£124million) a year.
A spokesman for Ofcom said the regulator was ‘carefully considering’ the complaint.
Last week, BAT, the company behind Dunhill and Lucky Strike, made a similar move by signing an estimated $90million (£70million) a year sponsorship deal with McLaren. McLaren’s F1 cars and uniforms have been emblazoned with BAT’s ‘A Better Tomorrow’ slogan and circular logo.
The UK began its clampdown on tobacco marketing with a ban on TV advertising in 1965, which was followed later with a ban on sports sponsorship. In 2005, companies were prohibited from promoting a tobacco product through nontobacco products or services.
The tobacco giants believe their brands do not constitute tobacco advertising. As traditional cigarettes have become taboo over their health risks, tobacco companies have bet their futures on electronic cigarettes – or vaping, which heats a liquid – and so-called heat-not-burn devices, which consist of a small stick of tobacco that is heated electronically.
Philip Morris says its Mission Winnow brand aims to highlight ‘the power of science, technology and innovation to build a better future’.
The Mission Winnow website spells out what this means: ‘A great example of this is the work being done in developing and testing less harmful alternatives to smoking. It requires expertise in chemistry, biology, toxicology and data science, and is crucial in overcoming a tricky hurdle in the creation of smoke-free alternatives.’
Philip Morris already sells a heated tobacco device called IQOS, which does not create any smoke. The company insists that the IQOS device ‘is not a tobacco product’ and said Mission Winnow ‘does not and will not advertise or promote any Philip Morris International-branded tobacco or nicotine containing products ’.
But Professor Britton, who co-chairs Public Health England’s tobacco control implementation board, believes the branding does constitute tobacco advertising. He points out Philip Morris has trademarked the Mission Winnow brand under several tobacco categories at the Intellectual Property Office in the UK. Philip Morris said this was normal practice to protect branding from competitors.
Anna Gilmore, professor of public health at the University of Bath, said: ‘There is no independent evidence that these new heated tobacco products are any safer than cigarettes. Tobacco companies, banned from marketing their deadly products, are now dressing themselves up as technology companies. This is a backdoor attempt to bypass marketing restrictions. It’s also a last-ditch image rehabilitation campaign.’
British American Tobacco’s ‘A Better Tomorrow’ brand also promotes the company’s drive towards cigarette alternatives or what it calls ‘potentially reduced risk products’, which includes vaping devices and heated tobacco.
According to a statement from BAT, ‘A Better Tomorrow’ is designed to provide a ‘global platform’ for its heated tobacco Glo product.
The company said: ‘Nothing we are doing is in any way intended to promote our cigarette brands. All our activity will be in line with applicable regulation and legislation.’
Tobacco firms have previously been accused of using Formula One to circumvent the ban on advertising. In the early 2000s, Benson & Hedges removed letters from its name to create a ‘Be on Edge’ slogan that would allow it to continue advertising on Jordan cars. ‘It is all subliminal,’ said M&C Saatchi Sport & Entertainment global chief executive Steve Martin. ‘Tobacco companies are paying extraordinary money for the rights to put logos on F1 cars. It’s pushing the boundaries [of what’s legal].’
Philip Morris has built up a sophisticated social media ‘influencer’ operation which involves both reality TV and motorsport stars.
The LinkedIn profile of one former agency worker reveals that influencers were used to promote IQOS. His profile states he ‘managed digital influencers including F1 drivers and 24 Hours of Le Mans winners’ on behalf of Philip Morris. The company said it did not use Ferrari drivers as social media influencers.
Job adverts show BAT is hiring a London-based social media executive in charge of ‘online influencer strategy’.
Both companies say their social media campaigns do not involve the promotion of tobacco or cigarettes and abide by all laws.
Philip Morris referred to research suggesting heated tobacco is less harmful than cigarettes.
A Department of Health spokesman said: ‘We take the unlawful promotion of tobacco products very seriously and expect any organisation found to be flouting the rules to be investigated.’