My earth Dream

Posted by: Matt Johnson | 28 February 2007

Nowhere are the lines between sport and business more blurred than in Formula 1 Grand Prix motor racing.

You are as likely to keep a finger on the pulse of this high octane world by studying the pages of the FT as you are by browsing the sports sections of the red tops, such is the involvement of many of the world's biggest multi national companies.

With an average global TV audience of 150m plus for each round of the world championship - a figure topped only by the once-in- four years World Cup and Olympic spectacles - it's easy to see the appeal of the cars and stars to major advertisers seeking to promote their brands globally.

Viewers these days have become used to their F1 cars being high-speed billboards.

Long gone are the days when British racing cars were plain green; Italian teams raced in red, the French in Blue and the Germans in silver.

All that has changed. And this week's dramatic announcement that one of the biggest teams in the business is scrapping the sponsors' billboard approach to painting its cars could mean bigger changes.

The Honda Racing F1 Team cars competing in this year's Championship will simply feature a huge image of earth instead of conventional advertising and sponsor logos.

The Japanese manufacturer wants to raise environmental issues facing the planet, and says the car's new look will be powerful call to action.

Consider the implications of this. The F1 circus flies more than 1,000 people to destinations all over the world, and while many share their aircraft, the highly paid stars and team owners are more likely to be in their private jets. Quite a carbon footprint there. And that's before they get round to the business of hurtling round the world's racetracks in cars which deliver blistering performance in return for eye-watering fuel consumption figures. In short, there's no business quite like grand prix business for generating carbon emissions - especially if you consider the longer term game of the manufactures like Honda, Mercedes and Renault who each pour millions into the F1 budgets, is to sell more road cars.

So, is Honda’s new approach a genuine attempt to turn this wacky races world on its head? Or a cynical marketing ploy? Time will tell. But to judge by the tone of the messages coming out of the car's launch, they are hell bent on raising these issues and their profile.

By logging on at  www.myearthdream.com anyone who wishes, will have the opportunity  to have their name on the car, make a pledge to make a lifestyle change to improve the environment and make a donation to an environmental charity. Under Honda's new concept of "our car is your car" each name pledged would form a tiny individual pixel that will build the mage of the planet on the car. Each name will also be visible on the website and under a microscope on the car.

The first race of the season may still be three weeks away.  But a breathtaking marketing strategy has given us the first winner of Grand Prix 2007. Watch those cars make the earth move.

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