Mission Winnow branding could make a return to Ferrari’s cars in 2021 after not featuring at all last season.
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Mission Winnow, a Philip Morris International (PMI) initiative, partnered up with Scuderia Ferrari in late 2018, drawing criticism from fans and campaigning groups for allegedly trying to circumvent regulations and laws which prohibit the advertising of tobacco products.
This week, a Philip Morris International spokesperson told RaceFans.net that they aren’t ruling out their branding featuring on Ferrari’s cars next season.
“Decisions about our approach to single events or races are based on a number of factors, including but not limited to regulations in place in the country and the environment in which the race takes place,” Tommaso di Giovanni, PMI’s vice-president for internal communications, said.
“We will announce plans for the next season and specific races in due course.”
Di Giovanni emphasised that Mission Winnow doesn’t exist to promote a specific brand or product, stating that it is “an initiative to encourage dialogue around positive change; our own and that of others.”
Continuing, he said: “Through Mission Winnow, we want to let the world know how we have changed; to share our pride in the transformation that the people of PMI have achieved and continue to work for.”
Last month, a study published by Stopping Tobacco Organizations and Products (STOP), an international anti-tobacco industry group, warned that Formula One and MotoGP remain the only major international sports competitions that still allow tobacco companies to advertise to fans.
STOP estimates that Formula One has generated in excess of $4.5 billion of revenue from sponsorship deals with tobacco brands in the sport’s 70-year history.
Tobacco companies spent over $100 million over the course of the 2020 F1 season alone, the group estimated.
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