Netflix recently launched the fifth season of
Formula 1: Drivers of Their Destiny
.
The popular Netflix behind-the-scenes Formula 1 documentary series offers tobacco giants an effective way to promote their products despite current bans, finds a study published on Wednesday.
Observers say the show not only increases the popularity of F1, it also airs images of cars sponsored by cigarette brands, including in countries where tobacco advertising is banned.
"
In total, 1.1 billion minutes of images broadcast worldwide showed tobacco-related content
" during the fourth season of
Drivers of their destiny
, indicates in a recent study Formula Money, which collects figures on F1 and the anti-tobacco NGO STOP.
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Half of this season's episodes feature tobacco-related branding from minute one, according to this report titled "
Driving Addiction: F1, Netflix and Cigarette Company Advertising
."
The brands Philip Morris International (PMI), sponsor of Ferrari, and British American Tobacco (BAT), sponsor of McLaren, were “
very present in the series
”, notes this report.
"
Research suggests PMI and BAT are reaching new audiences through the series, including people who don't watch F1 racing
," a typically younger audience.
A young audience
The series has helped raise awareness of the sport around the world.
“
This rise in viewership means more people are seeing the brand that F1 sponsors place on the cars
,” according to the report.
"
Netflix has a responsibility not to provide content that promotes, even indirectly, the brands of tobacco companies
," Jorge Alday of STOP told AFP.
Asked by AFP, Netflix did not respond to requests for comment.
A global treaty calls for the elimination of all tobacco advertising - which kills more than eight million people each year according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
And the International Automobile Federation (FIA), the governing body of Formula 1, has recommended for two decades against allowing tobacco companies to sponsor the sport.
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Tobacco companies have since stopped advertising their traditional cigarette brands, but have in some cases continued to promote newer products such as e-cigarettes.
"
They live in this gray area around what is and what isn't tobacco marketing
," Alday said.
Contacted by AFP, the FIA said it “
remains firmly opposed to tobacco advertising and continues to stick to its 2003 recommendations
but specifies that it is not
in a position to interfere with private commercial agreements between teams. and their sponsors, or with broadcast agreements.
»
$40 million in advertising
According to the report, PMI and BAT spent around $40 million advertising F1 in 2022. BAT's Vuse e-cigarettes and Velo nicotine pouches "have been the most visible branding
on McLarens throughout the season
”, details the same source.
These products appeared in 13 out of a total of 22 races, including the Mexico City Grand Prix, despite strong advertising restrictions in place in Mexico.
PMI, one of F1's oldest sponsors, has cut its stake significantly but continues to benefit from publicity.
Although he is still a Ferrari partner, his logos no longer appear on the team's cars, according to the report.
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Contacted by AFP, PMI's vice-president of communications, Tommaso Di Giovanni, replied that the partnership between Netflix and F1 "
has nothing to do with us
", saying that the company has stopped affixing its mark on cars and drivers' clothing since 2007. But the report released Wednesday notes that the tobacco giant, which has spent nearly $2.4 billion on advertising since entering the sport in 1971, has continued to take full advantage of the historical excerpts broadcast in the Netflix series.
Caroline Reid of Formula Money, co-author of the report, said in a statement that a single "
minute of historical excerpts features five different cigarette brands, including PMI's Marlboro
".