It is likely that a cigarette brand will never again be outwardly visible on the livery of a formula one car. Other teams - notably Renault, McLaren and Honda - farewelled their tobacco-fuelled dollars a couple of years ago, as anti-advertising laws swept Europe and the world. Ferrari, however, opted to renew its association with Philip Morris, and until recently has been displaying Marlboro logos where possible, including in places like Monaco and China. But at the recent Bahrain grand prix, where local laws theoretically would have allowed Ferrari to run tobacco branding, the two F2008 cars instead displayed the so-called barcode livery - reminiscent of the Marlboro signage but using white markings instead of letters and logos. According to Autoweek magazine, Ferrari has confirmed that Marlboro logos will no longer appear on its cars. Reportedly, Philip Morris, owned by Altria Group, decided that the barcode livery should be permanent. The first Marlboro branded cars were the BRM and Iso Marlboro-Fords in 1972, before the long and famous associations with McLaren, and subsequently Ferrari, began. Marlboros current Ferrari contract, estimated to be worth around $1bn in total to the Italian team, expires in 2011. A blanket ban on all tobacco sponsorship in F1 will come into effect in 2009. edit : i've always preferred the car with the Marlboro decals on it.
"i've always preferred the car with the Marlboro decals on it." +1, sad sad day for a tifosi like me. was really looking forward to monaco and china GP...
It is sad. Promoting cancer has really helped China and other third world countries by killing off millions of people before they grow old enough to become a burden financially to these countries and their families.
It makes me wonder why Philip Morris continues to sponsor the team if they can't advertise their cigarettes on the car. Maybe they should do what they did in the U.S. and Canada back in 1978-79 and brand the cars as Lowenbrau Ferraris in Montreal. But of course then the cars would have to be blue and Maranello would never go for that. Does P.M. have any non-tobacco products that come in red packaging?
As Mr. Ferrari said: my cars don´t smoke. He would be happy: now his cars don´t smoke but still have the tobacco money.
Well, Marlboro paid a LOT of Ferrari racing-freight over the years, if they decide to pack-it-in as a sponsor, someone with equally-deep pockets may be hard to find. Phillip Morris have Billions-and-Billions of discretionary profits to spend, few companies have that kind of cash lying around to just blow on racing. AND, they were loyal to the team, year after year after year. FedEx and TicTac? Sort-term 'flings' with no real money, and that was even at the height of the Schumacher era when winning was very frequent and the car's livery was on full-display in front of hundreds-of-millions. I'd be worried, unless Phillip Morris somehow felt they were satisfied with their motorsports investment.
The same can be said about drinking ETOH, this habit can wreck lifes, families and causes varies diseases and illness at any stages of ones lifetime. With all due respect, IMO, the key is to educate people about their potential harmfulness, just banning them on race cars will have very little effect in stopping these social diseases. It is a start, but not the ultimate solution as the responsibility lies within the individual and not the masses.
The team has been known as Ferrari-Malboro for awhile now, and Phillip Morris resales the places on the car to other companies that are interested in seeing their advertising on the F1 cars. They may in fact be charging the other companies more than Ferrari is charging them, who knows. Anyway, as long as it is feasible, it shouldn't be a problem.
Except it's bad PR for them to openly throw money around like that. At least with tobacco, everyone knows they don't give a damn about anyone and can spend their billions and not care what people think.
I find it interesting how Tobacco has become evil.. I don't see anyone forcing anyone else to smoke, never have... But I do find weak minded people blaming everyone else including the tobacco companies for their own problems. I like the Marlboro on the red car, looks cool... Quote: "I wonder how much longer the barcode will be allowed as it becomes emblematic of Marlboro." Response: If you take a barcode reader and use it on that barcode, you might find it spells Marlboro..
True, it's good that illegal drugs cannot be advertised or they would be everywhere! There are many things that can/do/could/will kill you that are advertised everyday. It's the person receiveing the information that makes the decisions.
I am not a smoker, and I also don't support smokers who blame others for their problems. BUT... I am glad that I am not from a "Tobacco Family", so that I don't have to justify sales of products which can cause harm 100% of the time. Would Ferrari still be able to race if they accepted Mafia money? (Wait a sec, do they accept or have they ever accepted Mafia money?) I'm sure many wealthy criminals around the world buy plenty of Ferrari products (and of course other exotic/luxury brands as well). ~shahedc.
My great grandfather, Fred Truluck, was the largest tobacco grower in the U.S. at the turn of the 20th century... Guess what, his tobacco employed and tobacco still employs more people than any other industry in the world. Did you know one pack of cigarettes employs about 20 people, all the way from the farmer to the person who sells it at the counter. I understand it's not healthy for you, but the funny thing is the cell phone you use today, is actually more harmful... So is the diet coke you drank, and all the artificial food products you eat everyday. You may not also know that cigarettes employ more medical professionals than any other field in medicine.. Without tobacco, the world economy would go into a severe depression... Without tobacco, the United States wouldn't exist today and it was the leading export of this country for many years... Only one crop makes more money per acre than Tobacco... Pot...
Tobacco advertising, bar code or no, should be totally eliminated from sports, and specifically Ferrari. It is not just a choice of whether or not you smoke, its the fact that the tobacco companies are not innocent of the methods they use to keep people on the habit. Smoking is a drug habit. I wish Ferrari would not have kept Marlboro. Even NASCAR dumped tobacco.
Did you ever wonder what would have happened if Ferrari had dumped Tobacco advertising?? They may not be in business today... Again, only weak minded people can't control their lives, Tobacco is addictive but only to those who are weak.. Did you also know that Alcohol kills more people every year than Tobacco, by about two times... Should we ban alcohol from sponsoring as well, how about airline companies, they kill a few thousand every year as well...
Right, I got that much from your comments earlier. To each his own. I'm sure the son of a Mafia boss will appreciate the sustenance that his family has provided him. He will also rationalize how the Mafia employs so many people in so many industries. I'm not here to change your mind, and I respect you for voicing your opinion.
a Tobacco growers great grandson.. Tobacco is legal, the Mafia is not.. Do you also dislike Piero Ferrari, after all his father started a car company and cars can kill people. Your logic makes no sense to me... Should the Bronfmans pack it up, their grandfather created seagrams and that's legal as well.. And BTW, I have received nothing from it, have what I have on my own... Can you show me how Tobacco is illegal??? Seems it's perfectly legal to smoke and chew tobacco wherever you want to... It's personal choice! You know 30 years ago when we weren't such a welfare society and real men ruled the world, we didn't have these questions or problems. The world has grown weak and lacks true men to lead. I just can't imagine Dwight Eisenhower blaming P.M. for his smoking problem, he was man enough to admit that he started it himself..
I for one have no problem with tobacco advertising (*flamesuit at ready*). It's always been my opinion that advertising causes you to choose a specific brand rather than choosing to begin smoking. Smoking is probably one of the worst things you could do to body, short of cutting off a limb, but if people want to smoke I'm pretty sure a sign on an F1 car isn't going to have a large impact on their decision.
Both are descended from organizations in the "killing" business, and laugh at those who challenge them. Maybe not directly, but maybe you were raised by the same family who benefited from it? If not, I stand corrected! If it's not illegal, I can't show that it is. But I can judge for myself (as can you, as you have) I agree that it really affects those who cannot control themselves. For those who just tried it a few times, I can't imagine how it would affect them really badly. That being said, would you be ok if your kids started smoking at a young age and into adulthood? (It's a simple yes/no question)
