Filed under: Motorsports, Marketing/Advertising, Ferrari
Ferrari sends Marlboro logos to the ashtray
Click above for more pics of the Ferrari F2008 in Bahrain
Though most other F1 teams have banished cigarette advertisements from their fenders in the past few years, Ferrari has stubbornly displayed Marlboro logos on its formula one cars wherever the law allows. Someone within Ferrari has apparently had a change of heart, as many noticed at the Bahrain Grand Prix earlier this month that the F2008 car was without its familiar cigarette advertisements, despite the laws of that country allowing their presence. In their place was what's been referred to as the "barcode" livery, which some say looks like the Marlboro branding from a distance, but is really just white markings that don't mean anything. After the race, Ferrari did confirm that Marlboro logos would no longer appear on its cars, which kind of ends an era of sorts. Despite the absence of its logos on the F2008, Marlboro is reportedly still happy to be a sponsor of Ferrari and will remain so until at least 2011 when the contract it signed worth around $1 billion runs out.
Gallery: Ferrari F2008 in Bahrain
[Source: Home of Sport, Photos by VINCENZO PINTO/AFP/Getty]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
vdk 8:14PM (4/16/2008)
i loved that logo... :(
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Jason 8:19PM (4/16/2008)
says the contract runs out on 2011... so are there terms in the contract that allow Ferrari to not display the logos?
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andy 8:26PM (4/16/2008)
actually it was Marlboro's parent company choice, not Ferrari
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amdforever 8:56PM (4/16/2008)
Sorry, but are those painted hub-caps on the wheels?
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zilch321 7:04AM (4/17/2008)
They started using caps over the outside of the wheels last year to control airflow. This one seems to work as several other teams are using similar systems this year. There is a vent at the bottom of the cap and the cap always stays in the same position, it doesn't turn with the wheel.
Christian Schwier 9:09PM (4/16/2008)
They are small covers that direct airflow over the brakes. The cover stays stationary while the wheel rotates, so the little vent you can see directs air onto the caliper.
Adam 1:42AM (4/17/2008)
Any "painted wheels" you see on the hubcaps come from the fact that when Ferrari first ran them solid black, BBS complained that they were getting zero exposure.
RAV Designs 9:02PM (4/16/2008)
Fenders?
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HotRodzNKustoms 9:02PM (4/16/2008)
It's just not a Ferrari F1 car without Marlboro plastered down the side and on the wing.
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Yar 9:05PM (4/16/2008)
I am going to start an F1 team funded by every company deemed offensive and/or politically incorrect.
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Derek 12:00PM (4/17/2008)
The Aussies have a Jack Daniels racing team:
http://holdenmotorsport.com/site/_content/wallpaper/00005088-wallpaper1280.jpg
Now you just need to add Viagra, Trojan, Marlboro and your choice of firearms manufacturer
pradyumnakejriwal 9:21PM (4/16/2008)
Formula 1 was definitely cooler when they had all the cigarrette brands like lucky strike, mild sevens, benson & hedges, etc.
Do you guys think that that people associate the barcode thing with marlboro? I'm not too sure.
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Richard 9:39PM (4/16/2008)
Prady,
Funny that you mention that. I was thinking earlier this week that Marlboro has really come to own the bar code thing. Honda's BAT (British American Tobacco) did it a couple of years ago, but Ferrari and Marlboro have really come to own it. I am glad the cancer sticks are gone, but I agree with Tifoso (below) that the cars looked cooler with cigarette livery. I still think that M Shu's championship Benneton in Mild Seven Light Blue was the most beautiful F1 car ever - OK, maybe after the 6-wheeled Tyrell - that didn't have the Cavallino Rampant on it.
And I do wish Heuer would come back. But I also wish Alonso ends up in scarlett!
tifoso471 9:26PM (4/16/2008)
hope marlboro stays with ferrari, and tag heuer comes back as the official timekeeper of formula 1.
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Bobby 9:38PM (4/16/2008)
No matter whatever they do, cigarettes are still selling, smokers are increasing.
To be truely environmentally friendly, F1, NBA, EPL, NFL should all allow Tobacco manufacturers to advertise, to get people to take up smoking, governments to offer incentives for smoking, children to be taught smoking since young.
This would truely help but down the world's population, and the environment would have a chance. Hey?! Which 'natural' cause of decrement in human population is as enjoyable as smoking? Car crash? Disease? Polution? Famine? At leaset smokers who died won't blame anyone, they asked for it.
All smokers should be hailed the savior of mankind.
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Yar 10:38PM (4/16/2008)
I agree. The massive increase in tobacco demand will increase the amount of tobacco crops. More plants means more C02 consumption, thus counteracting "global warming".
Then we can outlaw fluoridated water. Believe it or not, fluoridated water is actually a Communist conspiracy designed to sap and impurify our precious bodily fluids.
Soul Shinobi 9:44PM (4/16/2008)
Wanna bet the barcode doesn't mean anything? I'm looking for a barcode decoder right now...
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tankd0g 10:42PM (4/16/2008)
This is not new, they have done the Marlboro pack of cigarettes bar code thing for a long time. They were slanted before this year though.
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Coleman 11:04PM (4/16/2008)
The only smoking will be the flying Finn smoking the field once the Scuderia crew hits their stride.
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hashiryu 11:41PM (4/16/2008)
The best livery ever was the John Player Special Livery.......
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