Formula One has an addiction to Big Tobacco
When Formula One arrives in Austin for the U.S. Grand Prix this weekend, the Circuit of the Americas track won’t be the only bumpy issue. There is controversy over tobacco sponsorship that includes an e-cigarette product popular among American youths, giving parents more to worry about than their kids becoming a “petrolhead.”
In October 2018, at a Formula One race in Japan, a mysterious new logo appeared on the Ferrari team’s cars: “MISSION WINNOW,” the words stacked and slanted to suggest a speeding arrow. Reading past the spin, it became clear that Mission Winnow is a vehicle to continue Philip Morris’ long and lucrative connection with one of the world’s most popular sports, and part of a smokescreen to help distract attention from all the cigarettes it sells. Philip Morris International makes more than 600 billion cigarettes worldwide every year.
The company no longer plasters Marlboro labels on Ferrari cars but “Mission Winnow” is a decent substitute, with its Ms and Ws evoking the instantly recognizable chevron of the world’s most valuable cigarette brand. The Ferrari car design for 2021 was changed “at the last minute” to include a new neon green Mission Winnow logo that generated a lot of media buzz, which, for Philip Morris International is basically “Mission Accomplished.” While individual countries’ regulations have forced Ferrari to temporarily remove this logo during certain races, the partnership, Ferrari’s leaders have stressed, remains ongoing.
Philip Morris International is not alone. Its rival, British American Tobacco, unveiled its marketing campaign, “A Better Tomorrow” in 2019, rejoining one of the most watched sports in the world to push its electronic products. E-cigarette and nicotine pouch brands are now openly advertised on the cars and clothing of the McLaren team, its social media, team events and in a video game competition for McLaren fans. Any child watching Formula
One races or BAT-McLaren content is exposed to this advertising. One of their brands, Vuse, is already the second-most popular e-cigarette product among middle and high school students, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
There is clear youth appeal in a sport associated with speed, technology and glamor and Formula One is actively recruiting young fans. A report from tobacco industry watchdog
STOP examines how the cigarette companies and teams they sponsor are capitalizing on this trend, with BAT and McLaren in particular exploiting youthfriendly e-sports and channels like TikTok, YouTube and Netflix, with its popular “Drive to Survive” show. And it’s working: according to an analysis conducted by Formula Money on behalf of STOP, McLaren has the second youngest fan base on social media of all the Formula One teams, and a younger fan base than that of the sport itself.
Vuse was advertised on McLaren cars in the Bahrain and Monaco races earlier this year, and VELO, a brand of nicotine pouch, was advertised at other races. Both brands featured heavily in McLaren team content through the season, reaching the U.S., where parents, youth groups and regulators are working to stem the youth vaping epidemic, and countries such as Kenya, where parent groups and health advocates are concerned that children are becoming addicted to BAT’s nicotine pouches. And that’s the point: to slip tobacco brands past regulators, bypassing national regulations, and get in front of consumers.
Tobacco kills up to half of its users, according to the World Health Organization, and policies designed to reduce tobacco use are eroding the industry’s global customer base. Cigarette companies need to recruit new customers for their products and data suggests that most lifetime customers become addicted at a young age. Suddenly, Formula One’s goal to expand its global audience and attract a younger demographic takes on a more ominous tone while Big Tobacco is still involved.
In 2001, Formula One’s governing body, Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile, decided to follow the lead of other global sports and committed to end all tobacco sponsorship and advertising by 2006, but that
“ban” became a “recommendation,” never fully enforced. Tobacco money never went away — setting the scene for the recent resurgence.
There have been calls for the FIA to live up to its public commitments to be more socially responsible and finally put an end to tobacco company sponsorship. Yet according to an analysis conducted on behalf of STOP, Philip Morris and BAT combined are spending an estimated $105 million on Formula One sponsorship in 2021. It’s estimated that the sport has made more than $4.5 billion from tobacco companies to date.
Formula One is giving Big Tobacco access to marketing platforms and venues. Young fans are being exposed to tobacco messaging today because of the sport’s failure to fully quit tobacco sponsorship 15 years ago.
Ultimately, Formula One needs to quit its addiction to tobacco money and put the health and wellbeing of current and future fans first.