Marlboro to continue racing sponsorship

Ferrari recently announced that it would be continuing its sponsorship arrangements with Philip Morris for years to come and that created a number of questions. But there is nothing illegal in the deal. There is nothing to say that a sponsor has to use the sponsorship it buys on a car to advertise its products.

The longtime association with the glamour of F1 does not necessarily have to stop because rather than putting the cigarettes on the side of the car, the tobacco companies have every right to put the racing cars on the side of the cigarettes. The sub-conscious association between Ferrari and Marlboro has been built up over many years and, according to Philip Morris logic, there is no reason to waste that investment. The cars can run without any Marlboro branding but the connection can remain.

The answer it seems is the Marlboro Racing Edition cigarette. Grandprix.com

[Editor's Note: Might we see Marlboro use a similar strategy in the USA for its IRL sponsorship – i.e. blank race car sidepods with the Penske IRL cars on Marlboro cigarette packs sold in the USA?]