Lando Norris, McLaren, Shanghai International Circuit, 2019

McLaren to expand British American Tobacco deal in 2020

2020 F1 season

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McLaren will expand its British American Tobacco deal next year, increasing the company’s presence on its F1 car and featuring their logos on its IndyCar team.

BAT will have “significantly increased branding positions” on next year’s MCL34 “including highly visible new sidepod branding, inside halo and front wing branding positions”, the team said.

RaceFans understands the deal, worth over $20 million, will not involve title sponsorship of the team. McLaren is to retain the papaya orange colour it reintroduced last season.

McLaren has promoted BAT’s “A Better Tomorrow” branding on its car as well as its ‘New Category’ products such as Vuse. However the promotion has attracted some criticism from those who claim it is a means of circumventing rules preventing tobacco brands from being advertised. Ferrari’s ‘Mission Winnow’ branding, backed by tobacco producer Philip Morris International, has faced similar criticism.

McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown said three two companies had “a successful first season together” in 2019.

“BAT’s transformation agenda remains central to this partnership, as does a shared focus on technology and innovation and we look forward to continuing our work together from 2020 and beyond,” he added.

BAT’s chief marketing officer Kingsley Wheaton said he is “particularly excited about our plans to partner with McLaren for their return to the IndyCar series, after a 40-year break, next year” as “the 17-race calendar aligns very well with our geographical footprint and business priorities.”

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Keith Collantine
Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

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23 comments on “McLaren to expand British American Tobacco deal in 2020”

  1. Cristiano Ferreira
    29th November 2019, 8:29

    Good for them to have a sponsor, be it tobacco, beer or whatever. It’s a sponsor after all

    Good for McLaren indeed.

    1. Can’t see any good in tobacco sponsoring; I think it taints McLaren’s name.

      1. Cristiano Ferreira
        29th November 2019, 10:47

        I don’t think so. One of McLaren (and F1) most iconic liveries was the Marlboro one.

        People just overreact to that kind of sponsor for no reason at all. It’s simple, just dont buy their product and its all good.

        1. People just overreact to that kind of sponsor for no reason at all

          What an ignorent nonsensical comment.
          Tobacco kills; harms kids/others through indirect exposure, and is purposely addictive.
          And still you think it’s OK to promote this because you like colour scheme of a car many decades ago?

          1. Your computer, with which u have wrote your comment probably killed few people as well, right from the start of the chain of production. All the way from third world countries where precious metals were dug up, right to processing plants and all the way to your home, and it will harm few people more when you will throw it away. So no need to moralise about a bunch of stickers on the car. Certain percentage of people will allways be foolish, or just wont care about their health, if you take tobacco away from them, then they will sniff glue, or paint, or will get themself high with sugar, coffeine, tein and so on….The only problem i have with smokers are their ignorance of considering the nonsmoking people, but otherwise i have no problem that people smoke. As long they aint puffing it into my face and as long they dispose their trash like it is expected, then i have no problem. And yes, i fully support tobacco advertising. Money from it enables brightest minds to compete in this super expensive and complex sport.

          2. Cristiano Ferreira
            29th November 2019, 21:58

            Ignorant is what you are talking about. We live in a corporate world where most of the “harmful” companies have shares in other companies as well, so if you discover that PMI has shares in the company where you work, are you going to quit your job? How about other products your consume? I’m sure they have their “fair share” of shaddy business as well.

            Stop being an hypocrate @coldfly

            I had a relative that died because of tobacco, and i also have relatives that suffer to this day because they are addicted to alchool, and no, im not gonna blame those companies because its not their fault that my relatives got addicted to their product. They become addicted because they wanted to.

            So yeah, i dont mind some stickers because i know what I DON’T WANT TO consume. If you don’t have the same mindset then i’m sorry for you, because it must be sad to live in a world where everything must be hidden away from you.

            And like it or not, yes, the McLaren Marlboro livery is indeed one of the most recognisable things in F1

          3. They become addicted because they wanted to.

            Your honour, I rest my case.

      2. Dutchguy (@justarandomdutchguy)
        29th November 2019, 10:49

        F1 teams need the money, and as long as Ferrari keep/are allowed to keep their relationship with PMI, I can’t blame McLaren for trying to get on equal footing by exploiting the same loopholes.
        I hate the whole tabacco industry, don’t get me wrong, but it appears F1 still needs them

        1. Advertising non-smoking products is a “loophole”? I suppose it all depends on what you think the advertising ban is for. Some of us are labouring under the apparent misapprehension that it’s about preventing the promotion of smoking tobacco.

      3. It is good that mclaren has high level sponsors. It is sad that it is a tobacco company. I think overall mclaren and sainz have been the best stories of 2019. Sainz was totally nobody for me after last season and I would not have thought twice if he was left without seat for this season. Glad I was wrong, he has driven very very well. Together with norris they are a funny duo at mclaren and it is also good to see the destiny changing for mclaren after suffering all those years with honda and then having pants down moments all the way through last year to indy. Mclaren made the hard decisions and fixed things and got it right. Even if the lucky podium was lucky it did not feel like they did not deserve it and it was easy to be happy for them.

  2. I’m glad this is happening. I wish McLaren the best.

  3. Lenny (@leonardodicappucino)
    29th November 2019, 9:45

    McLaren are a team that I would desperately like to support. They’ve got history, ambition, they’re improving, and they have one of the most fun and exciting driver line-ups on the grid. Yet they squander all that goodwill by selling their soul to Tobacco.

    1. what? they didn’t sell their soul, they sold a spot on their car for a logo… I think you’re overreacting

      1. petebaldwin (@)
        29th November 2019, 10:35

        It depends how you view things. To me, it says McLaren don’t care what they promote providing they are paid to do so. That’s fine but it makes me respect them a lot less as a company.

        1. Thatretroaussie
          21st April 2020, 13:02

          Stop being so pointlessly moralistic.
          The tobacco industry has been a part of formula 1 for decades and, don’t you forget that until ’96 mclarrens livery was basically a Marlboro packet in the shape of an f1 car.
          It’s not like they’ve suddenly decided to take sponsorship from tobacco companies. They’ve allays been doing this. So having a sook about it is just silly

  4. There’s a difference between having a tobacco company as a sponsor and promoting said tobacco company

    1. Well, when you plaster their logo/slogan on your car, you are doing both…

  5. “the 17-race calendar aligns very well with our geographical footprint and business priorities.”

    Is this a typical, or is he implying that there are 5 races where they are banned from promoting the brand?

    1. @eurobrun I think he is referring to the Indycar schedule

  6. Maybe they will focus their advertising efforts more on promoting vaping. That has gotten some bad press, so more money and distraction is needed.

  7. It’s funny how some people act like tobacco sponsoring is one of the day most digraceful things a Formula 1 team can bring upon themselves. Sure, because promoting ultra-healthy energy drinks with 100% natural ingredients and positive impact on human body is a way to go.

    1. I would think the corollary of “There is no ethical consumption under capitalism” would be there is no ethical advertising.

Comments are closed.