British American Tobacco and McLaren Racing announce continued partnership

British American Tobacco (BAT) has been the main partner of the McLaren Formula 1 team since 2019. Since tobacco sponsorship was banned in 2006, the company has changed its message to ‘A Better Tomorrow’ to promote the promotion of its new nicotine products. The company’s partnership with McLaren promotes the ‘Driven by Change’ campaign through BAT’s Vuse and Velo brands.

BAT has extended its long-standing partnership with McLaren Racing(1). Under the agreement, BAT will continue to be the official main partner of the McLaren Formula 1 team for the 2024 season onwards. For the first time this year, the BAT brand will appear on the NEOM McLaren Formula E team cars with the Vuse and Velo logos placed on the drivers’ uniforms and in several highly visible areas of the cars.

Sports cars, vector for advertising new nicotine products

In March 2020, BAT changed its website to the slogan “Better Tomorrow”, which was previously used to promote its Vuse (formerly Vype) vaping brand. This development was done mainly in motor sports. This slogan leads to the advertising of all new products from the manufacturer BAT which describes them as “reducible risk products”. The manufacturer’s image strategy is to highlight its corporate social responsibility (CSR), its concern for cooperation, its participation in scientific and technological innovation in order to promote its tobacco and nicotine products to a young audience.

In 2023, several Dutch health organizations contacted the Advertising Codes Commission to try to prevent McLaren from advertising Velo nicotine pouches during the Formula 1 championship in Zandvoort (Netherlands)(2). The Dutch government announced in April 2023 that it wanted to ban the sale of nicotine patches in the country. In response, McLaren cars displayed the anagram “LOVE” during the Grand Prix to circumvent the ban. This form of communication, however, still represents advertising for health organizations.

Using F1 to involve the manufacturer in corporate social responsibility activities

According to’analysis done to END the Money System in 2023, BAT and McLaren are using their “Driven by change” campaign to ” empowering and highlighting underrepresented artists from all backgrounds “. This program therefore combines tobacco financing with a positive philanthropic project. This type of social responsibility (CSR) activity is one of the methods of the tobacco industry to improve its image and disrupt the harm it continues to cause. McLaren and BAT have also launched a partnership called “Driven by Diversity” which is called ” educate individuals and organizations on the value of diversity and inclusion in power sports “. This campaign actually contributes to promoting the manufacturer’s nicotine products to a younger audience, which is also sensitive to issues of diversity and inclusion.

Furthermore, these plans attract the attention of many media outlets, which usually do not cover F1 events. This positive media coverage contributes to further strengthen the presence of the tobacco company and the use of nicotine.

Younger, more female and older audiences

According to STOP, viewers of Formula 1 races reached 445 million in 2021, with significant increases in some markets. Much of the recent increase in audience worldwide, and especially in the United States, has been attributed to the Netflix series “System 1: Drive to Live.” The show launched in 2019 and has appeared in the top 10 weekly shows on Netflix in more than 50 countries. It focuses on the personal stories of the drivers and has broadened the appeal of the sport to a wider audience.

A Nielsen study showed that the audience for “Save to Survive” was only lower than the audience for F1, respectively (46% v/16% were under 34). The show has also led to more women becoming interested in motorsports, with the latter recording a 30% increase in this demographic.

Photo credit: FRANCK ROBICHON/EPA/MaxPPP

Keywords: McLaren, British American Tobacco, Formula 1, motorsport, racing, partnership, Velo, Vuse, Netflix

(1) McLaren Racing accepts BAT’s multi-year warranty extensionBlackbook motorsport, published April 8, 2024, accessed April 10, 2024

(2) Tobacco-free generation, Netherlands: complaint filed against McLaren for advertising VELO nicotine pouches during Formula 1 championship, published August 23, 2023, accessed April 10, 2024

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