We always wondered about the logic (human, not marketing) of associating sports with tobacco or alcohol brands. But we finally got used to it and we are even nostalgic of this carefree time. Alcohol and tobacco sponsors are forbidden: public health is now safe and sound. Well, almost: today tobacco brands are blurred on cars (goodbye Marlboro and Lucky Strike liveries) and alcohol brands have been replaced by: alcohol brands but... 0%. Revolutionary.

Fortunately there were more fun sponsors:

ABBA – ATS, Formule 1 (1981)

Yellow, beautiful sound, success? And yes, the world-famous group ABBA had a sponsorship. But it was not lucky: the Formula 1 ATS which participated in the 1981 championship only got 1 point and everyone will have forgotten this beautiful livery decorated with the name of the Swedish music group. The ATS will finish only 18th in the ranking, too bad for the ABBA.

Haribo - Mercedes SLS AMG, 24H Nürburgring (2015)

Since it's not good to smoke or drink, you might as well eat candy. Nice little teddy bear, it's cute: and it's very funny to arrive at full speed in the rearview mirror of your competitors with a teddy bear that goes "COUCOU!" Unfortunately, this Mercedes will have mostly made cuckoo at the bottom of the ranking that year.

Pink Pig - Porsche 917/20, 24H du Mans (1971)

A racing pig. 1971: The year in which the current boss of the F1 team Red Bull won the 24 hours of Le Mans was also the year in which the first pig to have taken part in a car race could be seen. Unfortunately, this race, which is considered extremely difficult, was not made for this animal and ended in a withdrawal. At least the cutting marks were already ready to be able to eat it at the end of the race.

" Pas de sponsor " - Hesketh, Formula 1 (1974)

What's cooler than a sponsor? No Sponsor. You are Lord, you have money, you are financially comfortable and you are bored? Then you buy your Formula 1 team and give it your name, with one driver, because otherwise it's less convenient, so people see that you have stuff. And then why bother to take a sponsor... It's a bit like the story of Lord Hesketh with this white non-sponsored Formula 1. But it went wrong : the Lord was ruined. And yes, F1 is expensive.

Penthouse – Hesketh 308E, Formule 1 (1977)

The Lord of "No Sponsor" being broke understood that sponsors were necessary in F1. He finally offered himself a sponsor a little more trashy after the beginning of James Hunt. What could be better than to offer the "holé holé" magazine Penthouse to stick to the sulphurous image of the parties of the Lord Hesketh.

Viagra - Ford, Nascar (2005)

Do we really need to explain? A Viagra ad on a Nascar car makes for a nice cliché. And it's finally a bit logical since many Nascar drivers are often in their fifties and are potentially subject to sexual problems... You get the idea.

Dogecoin - Chevrolet Camaro, Nascar (2021)

The Shiba dog "Doge" is undoubtedly the king of internet memes. Whether he's muscular, angry, or here representing the ironic cryptomoney "Dogecoin" he always makes a noticeable appearance. Especially since we're not used to seeing internet phenomena come out into the real world. So race, much car, such fast wow.

Durex - Surtees TS19, Formula 1 (1976)

If there are sponsors for oil companies, tobacco or even spirits, then why not have brands around sex, but for a good cause: protection against STDs! Sounds logical? Well, unfortunately, not everyone thinks so: the BBC didn't think it was a good idea and deprived a lot of families in front of their TV set for fear of shocking them. On the other hand, smoking Marlboros in family or John Player Special is ok.

Trump 2020 - Chevrolet Camaro, Nascar (2020)

Well, even if we wanted to make it more American we wouldn't have succeeded. We can say here that these are not only clichés. We can also say that Trump tried everything to be reelected, even to make his ad in a competition that suits him well ... But well, history will remember that it did not work. "America first" huh.

Shell – Nissan E.Dams, Formule E (2018)

When Nissan decides to enter the Formula E championship, they don't do it by halves: with a second place in the driver rankings in their first year, it's not bad. But where they are the most successful is with the sponsor. Indeed, they arrive in a championship called 100% green with as sponsor, a lobbyist spending about 50 million euros per year to block the regulations against global warming: Shell, the second largest oil company in the world. This is without doubt the number 1 of strange sponsors.

Conclusion :

There was really everything with some nice societal inconsistencies or some pretty funny or cute sponsors. Don't hesitate to give us other strange sponsors if you have any in mind.

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