Eurocare publishes a critical analysis on alcohol advertising in F1

Last November, Marianne Skar, the executive secretary of the NGO Eurocare, stated: « Allowing alcohol sponsorship in Formula One seems to contradict the official guidelines for alcohol marketing. It goes against the European Union directive which states that alcohol consumption marketing should not be associated with driving. Moreover, the current association between alcohol and driving does not appear to fit into the category of “messages for the widespread promotion of responsible consumption,” which is part of the mission that the industry itself has decided upon. »

Contacted by Eurocare, Jean Todt, the president of the FIA, stated that the Federation had no authority over the commercial decisions of the teams involved in F1.

To conduct its study, the Brussels NGO partnered with the Institute for Alcohol Studies and an Australian university. To demonstrate the visibility of alcohol brands in F1, they decided to count the number of times an alcohol brand appeared on screen. They based their study on the entire programming of the British channel Sky during the 2014 Monaco Grand Prix, before, during, and after the race.

From this targeted analysis emerged the following shocking figure: viewers are exposed to the name of an alcohol brand every five seconds throughout the race. This leads Marianne Skar, the executive secretary of the NGO, to declare: « The level of alcohol exposure in F1 is enormous at all levels. It seems that there is a lack of recognition within the F1 community regarding their responsibility in showing alcohol advertisements every five seconds to an audience of 500 million viewers. We now demand that stakeholders in F1 abandon alcohol sponsorship. »

Furthermore, the NGO criticizes that only one (Johnnie Walker) of the three major brands involved in sports mentions promoting responsible consumption when driving. And since this campaign is published on the Facebook page of Diageo’s subsidiary, it is more considered as a brand promotion campaign than as a prevention campaign against the risks of alcohol…

Nevertheless, the devil is in the details, and this study is no exception. The NGO claims to have chosen to analyze the Monaco race because it is the most famous of the season and thus the most representative of the sport. However, this overlooks the exception granted to the organizers of this particular event: unlike all other races except Japan and Brazil, Monaco does not follow the commercial rules imposed by the FOM. This is why one can see advertisements for brands that are not official F1 sponsors along the track. For example, this weekend, we saw large Tag Heuer banners even though Rolex is the official watchmaker of F1.

Now, this exception has a direct impact on the Eurocare study, as can be seen when looking at the placement of alcohol brands during the race: in 95.8% of cases where an alcohol brand is visible, it is displayed on the barriers or on the gantries above the track, which is therefore not linked to any contract with a team, something the report fails to mention.

However, the visibility of Johnnie Walker, which has partnered with the Automobile Club de Monaco, is not the same at the other 18 races of the season, even if the brand became the official whisky of the sport last year. It is also interesting to note that Eurocare illustrated its press release with a photo that was not taken at the said Monaco Grand Prix but where the brand has even greater visibility.

Moreover, it should not be forgotten that three races (or 15% of the season) are held in a Muslim country where any promotion of alcohol is prohibited. This mechanically reduces the visibility of brands from this sector throughout the championship. It is also surprising that the report makes no reference to other alcohol brands present in the sport: Mumm on the podium, Veuve Cliquot with Ferrari, Singha with Red Bull…

Finally, the NGO’s report makes no reference to the prevention message that can be seen on many broadcasts of televised images during various events, where it states: « Bernie says: Think before you drive ».

More detailed and long-term studies will therefore need to be conducted in the coming months and years to provide the quantitative data that could lead to changes in the current legislation…

With the participation of www.Racingbusiness.fr