And Netflix recently launched the fifth part of the “Drive to Survive” series.
But according to some observers, this series not only increases the popularity of the first category in motorsports and attracts a new audience, but also broadcasts images of Formula One cars with logos of tobacco companies’ brands, even in countries where tobacco advertising is prohibited.
A recent study by Formula Money, which compiles figures related to Formula One, and the anti-tobacco NGO Stop said that “in total, 1.1 billion minutes of scenes containing tobacco-related material were broadcast worldwide” during the fourth season of the documentary series. relating to the World Championship.
Half of this season’s episodes also feature images of tobacco brands broadcast in the first minute, according to this report, “Driving Addiction: Formula One, Netflix and the Cigarette Company Ads.”
The report notes that Philip Morris International, sponsor of Ferrari, and British American Tobacco, sponsor of McLaren, are “strongly present in the series”.
-Young fans-
“Research indicates both companies are reaching new audiences with the series, including people who don’t watch F1,” which is generally younger audiences.
The series has contributed to the sport’s worldwide popularity, but “this increase in viewership means more people are seeing the financier’s brand on cars,” the report states.
“Netflix has a responsibility not to provide content that promotes, even if indirectly, cigarette brands,” Jorge Alday of the Stop organization told AFP.
However, the streaming platform refused to comment on these criticisms in a question from AFP.
A global treaty calls for the abolition of tobacco advertising, which kills more than 8 million people each year, according to the World Health Organization.
The International Automobile Federation (FIA), the executive body overseeing Formula One, has also recommended for two decades that tobacco companies should not be allowed to sponsor the sport.
Since then, tobacco manufacturers have stopped promoting their traditional brands of cigarettes, but continue to advertise more modern products such as electronic cigarettes.
“They live in this gray area of what is and isn’t tobacco marketing,” Alday says.
In contact with AFP, the FIA confirmed that it “resolutely opposes tobacco advertising and continues to adhere to the recommendations of 2003.”
“We cannot interfere with private trade agreements between teams and sponsors, or with broadcasting agreements,” he added emphasizing.
-40 million dollars!-
According to the report, Philip Morris International and British American Tobacco spent nearly $40 million in advertising in Formula One in 2022.
The same source explains that British American Tobacco’s e-cigarettes “were the most visible brands on McLaren all season”. These products have appeared in 13 Grands Prix out of 22 races, including the Mexican Grand Prix, despite strict restrictions on tobacco advertising in Mexico.
The Italian vice president of communications at Philip Morris International, Tommaso Di Giovanni, said in a phone call with AFP that the company had “no relation” to the partnership between Netflix and Formula, stressing that the company had stopped putting its trademark on cars and sportswear for drivers since 2007.
However, the report published Wednesday indicated that the tobacco giant, which has spent nearly $ 2.4 billion in advertising since entering the sports arena in 1971, continued to gain a wide advantage from historical scenes in the Netflix series.
