Formula One has stubbed out cigarette logos once and for all, after Ferrari and Philip Morris agreed to run Marlboro ‘barcodes’ on their F2008s instead of the tobacco brand’s normal logo.F1 has been trying to get the nicotine out of its system for several years. McLaren, Renault (née Benetton) and Honda (née BAR) have all found alternative sources of sponsorship income and dropped the tobacco branding accordingly.Ferrari has a deal with Philip Morris that runs through to 2011 and is worth a reputed £600 million, so it was thought that it would continue Marlboro branding in countries where legislation permits it.However, Ferrari’s dominant one-two in the Bahrain GP was scored with ‘unbranded’ cars, even though the country would have allowed full logos. The team has now confirmed that this will be its policy in future.The reasons behind the switch are still unclear, but it could simply be a ‘goodwill’ gesture on Philip Morris’s part, allowing Ferrari a ‘cleaner’ car to attract alternative sponsorship in advance of the Marlboro deal’s conclusion.
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Re: F1 drops cigarette ads
Not before time that F1 gave up it's addiction, even though Ferrari will still carry sponsorship in code (poor show by them). Perhaps it will finally pave the way for larger international brands to support F1 the way other sports have been. Coke-a-cola or Pepsi may now be tempted to support a "Clean" global brand. Pizza hut or Dominos. McDonalds or Burger King. There are so many brands that could support F1.
Now all we need to do is get a Nazi fantasist* away from running motorsport to finally give it the clean image it needs.
* I've seen the video on the internet of Max Mosley speaking and teaching German, the fake German accents and what looks to me to be a SS uniform worn by one of the women involved.