The curious case of modern F1 'cigarette' branding

Twelve months ago, Ferrari title sponsor Philip Morris caused a stir when it launched Mission Minnow and the livery of the team's cars at Suzuka was tweaked as a result.

Initial confusion about the initiative's purpose was followed by criticism from some quarters that it was simply a back door way of bringing the Marlboro logo back into Formula 1 in a bid to sell more cigarettes.

Then fears about tobacco companies finding a new way to get their names in front of F1 fans were further increased over the winter when British American Tobacco announced that it would be tying up with McLaren through its 'A Better Tomorrow' initiative.

Anti-tobacco groups were up in arms amid fears that cigarette sponsors were back on the march.

Several governments - most notably Australia's - made clear that neither the Mission Winnow or any of the BAT logos could appear on F1 cars at their races because they felt this would breach anti-tobacco sponsorship bans.

The Mission Winnow arrow logo and words were on and off the Ferraris (and MotoGP Ducatis) over the first half of 2019, and McLaren sported alternatives from BAT commercial partners, such as 7-Eleven, at some races too.

But despite the ongoing scrutiny about what was really behind the initiative, Philip Morris is adamant that it was nothing to do with selling Marlboro cigarettes.

Jacek Olczak, chief operating officer at Philip Morris International (PMI), was famously quoted saying: "We put Mission Winnow on the car and somebody told us it looks like Marlboro. I said, 'Look, I think you should go to a doctor, OK?'"

By early summer there was a change of tactic as, without fanfare, the logos disappeared completely from both the Ferrari and Ducati liveries.

But while they have returned to the Ferrari for this weekend's Japanese GP, the first full year of the sponsorship campaign certainly does not appear to have been straightforward.

Yet don't think for a second that the on-off nature of the branding and ongoing scepticism from some quarters means that Philip Morris and BAT have been wasting their time and effort.

Digging a little deeper into how both companies judge the results of their sponsorship programmes, shows that they are still getting what they had hoped for.

Tobacco companies know that they need to push their new technologies, which is why using the F1's platform makes most sense

From Philip Morris' perspective, the Mission Winnow programme has made people curious and interested in what the company is up to while it goes through a business transformation to put it in the best place for the long term.

There has been a new wave of dialogue with fans, social media campaigns about the 'winnowing' approach to life, and behind the scenes work by scientists at Philip Morris' 'The Cube' laboratory in Switzerland on plants, indoor air quality and biomedical developments to better understand the future of reduced-risk products. This way of getting the message across was not possible before Mission Winnow began.

But Mission Winnow remains a hard concept for many people to understand, and some have even likened it to the 'Seinfeld' phenomenon - where something can become really popular even though many claim it is about nothing.

One theory that has been firmly debunked over the last 12 months is Mission Winnow being some simple cover story to get the Marlboro logo back onto the F1 cars and to sell more cigarettes. The same is true of BAT's motivations too, for it has not got involved again to try to shift more Lucky Strike or 555 products.

Instead, there is very much a push by Philip Morris and BAT to move with the times. The future is not going to be about selling cigarettes to the next generation of smokers; the way forward is going to have to be smoke free.

Tobacco companies know that they need to push their new technologies, which is why using F1's platform makes most sense.

A BAT spokesperson explained: "We are going through a massive transformation as a company as the result of these new product categories that are coming through, and when I talk about new categories I mean: vapour, tobacco-heated products and what we call oral tobacco products. And because that is a real step change for us, we really want to grow these categories.

"They only account for a very small part of our business but they are growing and we fundamentally believe that we need to have the ability to communicate with consumers about these new products because they are brand new, so they don't know about them.

"It is all test and learn. It is brand new for both sides [BAT and McLaren], but really it is all about trying to drive awareness of this transformation we are on, in the hope that more smokers can use these products instead of continuing to use cigarettes."

When asked about the theories of the initiatives being about secretly trying to sell cigarettes, the spokesperson replied: "Absolutely not. That is not what this is about. This partnership is nothing to do with cigarettes, it is all about this new category of products.

"The reality is that right now cigarettes are still the mainstay of our business. They still account for 94-95% of our global revenues. But the commitment is for that to shift, and we are realistic that it will take time.

"The money that we make on our cigarette business gives us the investment for these new categories, so we are not going to say we are going to step away from cigarettes. But we are committed to driving the growth of the business."

While Mission Winnow and A Better Tomorrow may appear to be quite similar in plotting a path to a smoke free future for both respective companies, the last year has also highlighted some very big differences between them.

It's about whether people are talking about Mission Winnow and A Better Tomorrow, and the answer right now is yes

Whereas Mission Winnow has been about promoting a wider ideology and technological transformation, BAT has been a bit more direct in actively using its McLaren tie-up to promote its e-cigarettes brands such as Vype.

The BAT spokesperson added: "Unless you drive awareness of these products then consumers are not going to even know that they exist, or then be able to choose to buy them. It [direct promotion] is about being transparent."

While the approaches may be different, both BAT and Philip Morris do face a similar task in transforming their businesses as they now face a society that wants to move away from cigarettes. To do that, things have to be done by the book; and that includes F1 sponsorship restrictions.

At no point is there any suggestion of either Philip Morris or BAT doing anything to break the law. Both have responded and reacted to individual government concerns by removing logos, and there is no desire from either to challenge such bans or restrictions.

The reality is that as long as e-cigarettes and vaping remain legal in major markets, and more than one billion people around the world chose to consume tobacco products, then companies like Philip Morris and BAT will be around to capitalise on what some people want to buy.

Of course, there are morality arguments that will forever swirl around tobacco and what such companies should and should not be allowed to do. But alcohol, sugar products, and energy drinks all have their critics, are widely promoted, and are at equal risk at of being dragged into such debates in the future.

But for now, the main story behind what Philip Morris and BAT are up to with F1 is mostly about transforming their businesses, and getting that message out to the wider world. And the true judge of success for both has nothing to do with current product sales or sponsorship penetration spreadsheets based on F1 viewing figures.

Instead, it's about whether people are talking about Mission Winnow and A Better Tomorrow, and the answer right now is yes.

As the BAT spokesperson concluded: "I always say to McLaren, we want to prompt debate, we want to prompt discussion, we want to prompt awareness.

"People challenging us, we want that to happen, because it gives us an opportunity to speak about what we are doing and why we are doing it. We are not shy from having those discussions."