You will probably have noticed that there has been a major clamp down on tobacco advertising in recent years, the combination of this and the country-wide ban on lighting up in pubs and clubs in the UK which has been in effect now for almost three years is really harming the industry. For some this is a major success story, less people lighting up means falling rates of lung cancer and heart disease, but the industry is left reeling and fearing further cuts.
How then can tobacco companies make themselves heard when there is a blanket ban on TV, Radio and Print advertising as well as gut-wrenching health warnings and gruesome images slapped across Company Logos on cigarette packets? Some brands are finding clever ways to sidestep the problem. For a long while, Formula One was a moving advertisment for companies such as Marlbro, JPS, Camel, Gauloises and West, albeit one which was travelling very rapidly!
Almost every team was backed by a big tobacco firm, brand, with the cars colour scheme and livery being dictated by the sponsors Logo Designs. In the mid-2000s regulation was introduced to ban such advertising from the sport, it was initially resisted by F1 owner Bernie Ecclestone as he branched out into Asian and Middle-Eastern countries which allowed the promotion, but eventually succumbed to a blanket ban in 2009.
Some brands have found smart methods to dodge ban and are still using them to this day. Phillip Morris, manufacturer of Malbnro cigarettes and long term partner of the Ferrari F1 squad run an alternative sponsorship strategy, electing to plaster a white barcode design on the car, which from a distance and coupled with the scarlet red of the Ferrari, very much resembles the original Marlbro logo.
This custom logo design circumnavigates the rules and allows a form of brand marketing which is both covert and subtle, yet at the same time stands out as instantly recognizable to those exposed to the Malbro brand for years. An eye catching logo is important but this case study demonstrates the importance of brand recognition which can be achceived simply by exposing a large audience to your brand over long periods of time.
