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When Covid-19 started I suddenly had a lot more free time on my hands, and after watching the Netflix docu-series "Drive to Survive" my passion for F1 only grew. I dived deep into the world of F1, learning everything I could about the drivers, teams, history, and sport. One of the things I kept noticing was the unique sponsors that are prominently featured on each and every external design for teams. While these are mostly harmless fashion brands, oil companies, or even food companies some are part of the sport's long relationship with tobacco advertising. These have been present on many of the top-level teams throughout the entire history of the sport, and they remain on the Ferrari and McLaren cars today.
When I first noticed this transition, I began to research how these companies were getting around the bans on tobacco advertising and whether or not they were still effective/worth implementing. I researched this exact topic in AP Seminar for my IWA where I learned more about the ongoing debate over the dangers and benefits of tobacco advertising within motorsports in general. This only further inspired me to analyze the current trends going on in F1 when it comes to the new wave of advertising that is visible today. First, I had to determine exactly which brands I would be looking for on each car, which I researched over the summer and put together in a google doc. From there I had to determine which seasons I would use and based on the findings of my research, namely the article "Exposure to 'smokescreen marketing' during the 2018 season Formula 1 Championship," I figured I would start In 2018. This season represented the return of the legacy tobacco brand Phillip Morris International, known most prominently for the "Marlboro" brand. In order to best fill a gap In research, I chose to use data from the 2022 season which defined my time frame. I have since started to analyze this tobacco trend by randomly selecting five different races from each season (for times' sake) using a random number generator. I use a stopwatch to quantify the total time that tobacco sponsorship appears on screen, and tally the total number of instances where the sponsorship appears on screen. I do this process for both legacy tobacco brands such as PMI, represented by Mission Winnow, and newer brands such as Velo, Vype, and Vuse. I analyze from the official start of the broadcast only to the checkered flag to focus on the highest viewed portion of the race broadcast. The data will be compared to answer my research question, How has tobacco team sponsorship changed in Formula One from the 2018-2022 seasons?
Sources Used to Find Methods:
Blum, Alan. “The Marlboro Grand Prix.” New England Journal of Medicine 324, no. 13 (1991): 913–17. https://doi.org/10.1056/nejm199103283241310.
"Counteracting tobacco motorsports sponsorship as a promotional tool: is the tobacco settlement enough?". American Journal of Public Health, 91 (2001): 1100–1106. doi:10.2105/ajph.91.7.1100
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