It was to be expected, and the offensive came from Australia. The logo and the concept “ Mission Winnow » which we find on the fairing of the official Ducati are an emanation of a well-known tobacco company. A social vocation which prohibits it from making the slightest promotion of its products in view of the regulations in force. To communicate all the same, you have to be imaginative. But there is no smoke without fire, and the Australian government does not like this filter. Justice is seized. Will it leave a taste of ashes to Ducati…but also to Ferrari!
Because the Prancing Horse's Formula 1 single-seaters are in the same color. And their season will begin… In Australia. Canberra authorities have opened an investigation into the logo Mission Winnow, which this year is visibly marked on the red of the Italian brands active in motor sports. The Australian federal government's assumption is that behind this sponsorship is a clever attempt to circumvent laws banning tobacco advertising.
Winnow Mission is a project launched by Philip Morris, the cigarette multinational which, through its subsidiary Marlboro, has financed Ferrari and Ducati for decades. Since 2007, a change in international laws has required the gradual elimination of tobacco sponsors from motorcycle and car sports disciplines. For the Australian Department of Health, the full brand of Winnow Mission, oriented vertically and with an elongated shape somewhat reminiscent of a cigarette. The zigzag pattern of its logo is reminiscent of the Marlboro chevron.
Philip Morris, for its part, specifies on its official website about its project: “ the tobacco industry is a highly regulated space. And we always comply with the laws applicable to our activities. This campaign is no exception: it complies with all laws, including those regarding the promotion and advertising of tobacco products. This campaign does not sponsor or promote any products. On the contrary, the idea behind this initiative is to support laboratory research into "alternatives" to cigarettes, thus transforming "not only our society, but an entire industrial sector, which affects both people around the world who smoke than those around them ". A version which apparently does not seem to fully convince the Australian government reports Tutomotoriweb who however specifies in a previous article that these are rumors.
Would there be smoke without fire?
