Cars
The History of Colors in Racing: Bold Sponsorships in the 70s
In the 70s, race cars became mobile billboards, leading to surprising and sometimes risqué sponsorships like funeral services, Penthouse, and Durex. Nascar later followed with brands like Viagra and Butt Paste in the 2000s.
Discovering that race cars could serve as lucrative, mobile billboards, often exposed to vast TV audiences, triggered a hunt for sponsors in the 1970s. There were no boundaries, and creativity knew no limits. During a time when racing was truly dangerous, it was striking to see a Formula 3 car flip in an English race, with the driver unharmed, revealing a rather unique sponsor—a funeral service—advertised even on the car’s underside. It seemed the crash was foreseen! Similarly, the Formula 1 Merzario A4 Ford sported a black wing adorned with the ad for “La Varesina Sofam” Funeral Services.
From the macabre to the cheeky. These were years when some restraint was still observed in how sex was handled, but not for Hesketh. Aside from oysters and champagne in their hospitality area, they plastered the Penthouse magazine logo across their Formula 1 car.
