A flurry of new sponsorship activity comes as Formula One racing comes closer to kicking its long-term dependence on tobacco dollars, writes Eric Pfanner. With regulators in Europe and elsewhere
trying to close the last loopholes that permit cigarette companies to sponsor auto racing, the hundreds of millions of dollars that these brands used to lavish on Formula One are dwindling. As of next
season, two tobacco brands that have been Formula One sponsors will be gone, including Mild Seven and Lucky Strike. Cigarette brands had been willing to pay a premium for Formula One, as it was one of
the last marketing options left for the industry. But with that now going away, some teams feared a funding crisis. However, as racing executives prepare to gather next week in Monaco for a conference
on the commercial side of the sport, the sponsorship market looks pretty healthy. The departure of the tobacco brands may have helped to attract a new kind of marketer, as two recent deals with ING
and AT&T give them title sponsorships at some of the most prominent teams--positions that in the past were typically held by tobacco brands.
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