Consumer group wants 2020 Ferrari car 'seized'
Italy's best known consumer rights group is threatening to sue Ferrari and urging the government to "seize" the team's newly-launched 2020 car.
Following similar controversies a year ago, the inclusion of the 'Mission Winnow' branding on the new red car is once again causing a stir.
Mission Winnow is a brand created by the tobacco giant Philip Morris, Ferrari's long-time title sponsor.
On its website, the brand is not obviously associated with tobacco, instead declaring its goal of driving "change by constantly searching for better ways of doing things".
The major Italian consumer group Codacons, however, says it is in fact subliminal tobacco advertising, which is banned in both "direct and indirect" forms in the country.
And according to the Italian media source Automoto, the Italian government agrees, with the health ministry accepting Codacons' recent complaint that the Mission Winnow branding is effectively promoting tobacco.
"Strengthened by the decision of the ministry that confirms us across the board, we will start legal proceedings against Ferrari," said Codacons president Carlo Rienzi.
"We will also ask for the new 'SF1000' single seater that was presented yesterday in Reggio Emilia to be seized."
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Get a day job, Rienzi. There aren't a lot of 12 yr olds influenced by something called Mission Winnow.
Get after real offenders. What a way to try to make a public spectacle of themselves and draw attention to a group that has little on their own. Ferrari is one of the legends in Italy, the Italian public are all Tifosi. This hair brained scheme will go nowhere.
Oh come on!!! You cannot be serious!!! I didn't even know Mission Winnow was anything to do with tobacco... and watching a car race around a track isn't going to persuade me to smoke!!
The fact that they are making such a fuss over the name and calling out it's relationship with tobacco has now made it what they were protesting. Hardly anyone, especially kids, would know that Mission Winnow had any relation to tobacco.. Now they do. Thank you Rienzi.
Good point.
If McLaren did this they'd be sanctioned already. Nothing will happen to Ferrari.
Why would the Italian government care about McLaren?