Philip Morris Int'l Inc. "is continuing one of the quietest sponsorships in sports," according to Alex Duff of BLOOMBERG. Ferrari Team Manager Maurizio Arrivabene said that the largest publicly traded tobacco company "has renewed its backing of the Ferrari Formula One team for three more years" even though advertising laws mean it has not displayed the Marlboro cigarette brand at a race since '07. Cigarette makers were once major sponsors in the sport, with three companies spending more than $750M on the world’s most popular auto competition in '01, "before rules banned advertising on cars." While tobacco brands cannot feature on race cars, Ferrari’s vehicles "feature a red-and-white square that resembles a Marlboro cigarette pack." Mark Jenkins, a professor of business strategy at the U.K.’s Cranfield University who wrote a '10 case study about the team, said, "The synergies are unspoken and unpromoted but they are there." Philip Morris, the only cigarette maker retaining a link with F1, extended the sponsorship through '18. Jenkins said that the N.Y.-based company, which promotes the link at some airport duty free shops and the streets of Monaco, does not make a fanfare about the sponsorship "to avoid rousing anti-tobacco lobbyists." Philip Morris confirmed that "it extended the relationship beyond 2015 without giving financial details." It is paying $160M annually under the current deal (BLOOMBERG, 5/13).
