Ferrari has revived its controversial and little-seen Mission Winnow title for the first time in in five months ahead of this weekend’s Japanese Grand Prix.
Critics claim the initiative backed by Ferrari sponsor and tobacco producer Philip Morris International is an attempt to circumvent legislation intended to ban tobacco advertising. PMI denies this, insisting it is an information campaign not intended to promote a specific product.The official FIA entry list for this weekend’s race refers to the team’s name as Scuderia Ferrari Mission Winnow, a title it last used for the Monaco Grand Prix in May. This was also the last race the SF-90s featured Mission Winnow branding, which is expected to return this weekend.
PMI launched Mission Winnow ahead of the Japanese Grand Prix 12 months ago. It remained on the car for the rest of the season and their 2019 chassis was launched bearing Mission Winnow branding.
However the logos were removed ahead of the first race of the season in Melbourne after Australian government health departments began investigating whether it was being used to promote tobacco.
The brand returned at the Bahrain Grand Prix and remained on the car until Monaco, but hasn’t been seen since then. The car has run without Mission Winnow branding at 11 of the 16 races so far.
Ferrari’s rivals McLaren are also sponsored by a tobacco producer, British American Tobacco. Its counterpart brand ‘A Better Tomorrow’ has also made only occasional appearances on the MCL34 since the deal was announced at the beginning of the year.
Video: Why Ferrari removed Mission Winnow from its car
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L (@lebz)
7th October 2019, 10:14
That logo is cursed.
Chaitanya
7th October 2019, 12:30
Not so much for Ducati who only seem to excel at certain tracks and they still do remaining tracks they are at their usual level of performance.
Luke S (@joeypropane)
7th October 2019, 10:57
On the car or not, advertising tobacco or not, doesn’t matter – it’s still an ugly, confusing, pointless logo.
Andy (@andycz)
7th October 2019, 11:06
Nobody cares anymore! So pointless…
Jere (@jerejj)
7th October 2019, 15:10
@andycz Indeed.
Lancer033 (@lancer033)
7th October 2019, 21:46
Yet here we are talking about PMI yet again….
AllstarGP
7th October 2019, 11:43
Case study in how to run a terrible marketing campaign.
Paul
7th October 2019, 11:51
No, that’s Rich Energy. :)
David BR (@david-br)
7th October 2019, 13:48
As useful as burning your money and inhaling the fumes.
socksolid (@socksolid)
7th October 2019, 16:02
Seems to be working really well. Everytime they put the sticker on the car everybody are talking about it.
Yaru
7th October 2019, 20:11
Well we keep talking about it. And prior to thisbuear I haven’t even heard of them.
Hell bringing it on and of might be making me pay attention to it more.
AllstarGP
8th October 2019, 12:35
You haven’t heard of Philip Morris – the tobacco juggernaut?
Also, if Phillip Morris accidentally put a racist or offensive slogan on a car, you wouldn’t call that a successful campaign. Yes, it’s in the news but from a marketing standpoint it just shows the brand as incompetent.
Optimaximal (@optimaximal)
7th October 2019, 12:01
I always read it as a Ferrari mission statement: “Mission: Win… NOW!”, as if it was a diktat from FCA, but it coincided with the teams relative fall from grace around the mid-late 2018 season, so it was quietly killed off.
JC
7th October 2019, 12:12
What a pointless vanity exercise.
Fish
7th October 2019, 13:58
Mission winnow is a strategy campaign to advertise a vague campaign to fuel controvery. Because this controversy will always mention Marboro, And Phillip Morris. As i just did. So it is a way to promote tobacco through controversy.
Hard bug to kill. Like a roach…
Xcm
7th October 2019, 20:29
Fish gets it… everyone else complaining about how useless and unsuccessful of an advertising campaign simply don’t understand how advertising works…
Here’s a hint… it’s subtle!
Kevin (@kmccauley)
7th October 2019, 12:26
Regardless of the effectiveness of this message as advertising for PMI…
How are we just okay with Ferrari receiving hundreds of millions of dollars from a tobacco company? Again, I don’t mean the ethics of it, just from a spirit of the rules perspective. Every other team dropped tobacco and the large sponsorship checks in 2006. They didn’t do this out of the goodness of their hearts, they did it to comply with rules prohibiting tobacco advertising. Rules that don’t apply to Ferrari.
nickthegreek (@nickthegreek)
7th October 2019, 14:15
in that case they don’t apply to McLaren either…
Yaru
7th October 2019, 20:15
I’m asthemetic and cannot stand cigarette smoke (makes me cough a lot), but personally if tobacoo companies want to advertise then I’m okay with it personally.
I just dislike advertising regulation a lot and do think people have a right to smoke (outdoors) and companies a right to promote it. Its probabaly just my life point of view over right in my personal dislike of the actual act.
Sham (@sham)
7th October 2019, 12:35
Everyone’s talking about it…
That’s all they want.
Sergei Golyshkin (@zerrega)
7th October 2019, 13:25
MISSION-STIFFLE-LECLERC-NOW!
KaIIe (@kaiie)
7th October 2019, 13:37
Oh yes, the tobacco company that’s not advertising its products, but its service (?) instead.
marcus (@wombat1m)
7th October 2019, 13:54
Clearly they are fed up of winning and want to be a minnow
RB13
7th October 2019, 14:09
Ferrari will not win at Suzuka = confirmed
DAllein (@)
7th October 2019, 14:31
F1 has many questionable rules, why not make the one which will stop this stupidity:
– restrict Teams renaming strictly to force majeure circumstances!
No identity switching at will!
petebaldwin (@)
7th October 2019, 15:16
I like it. It’s ironic. It seems like they are on a mission to do the exact opposite.
David BR (@david-br)
7th October 2019, 22:16
@petebaldwin Mission Win Nowt
Jim from US (@jimfromus)
7th October 2019, 17:50
Can’t change the helmet decals but …
John H (@john-h)
7th October 2019, 17:52
VAPE-TASTIC
formevic (@formevic)
7th October 2019, 18:11
Mission Winnow provides the secret additive for their PI: e-cig essence, grapefruit flavored. Unmasked!
formevic (@formevic)
7th October 2019, 18:46
*PU
Cristiano Ferreira
7th October 2019, 22:02
I really dont know why most of the people here are so salty about this logo. For me, i dont care what sponsors Ferrari runs on their car.
Its not like i’m going to start smoking because of this. Neither i’ll buy bottles of Chandom, Johnnie Walker or Estrela Gallicia just because they are sponsored by F1 teams.
Geez
RB13
8th October 2019, 10:08
I don’t know why you’re so salty about people being salty about something that noone really understands anyway.
Sensord4notbeingafanboi (@peartree)
7th October 2019, 23:26
Everyone knows ferrari sublets all ad space to philip morris who then finds ways to sell these space, mission winnow is filling in the blanks. Does it look like tobacco? No, but if we keep talking about it, it does and it proves it is working.
Nell (@imabouttogoham)
8th October 2019, 8:37
Gotta have to hand it to PMI and BAT, they’ve not advertising tobacco products, but they’re finding ways to get people to talk about them.
bukester (@bukester)
10th October 2019, 7:59
F1 will accept money from anyone , including Alex Albon’s Mother.