Formula 1, Engineered Insanity for the 2018 Racing Season

To be called Engineered Insanity, the campaign will try to send a unified message through the use of new imagery, a new tagline and a something F1 calls a “hero film” - a film showing how six of the sports biggest fans live the races.

The first clip of the campaign was launched this weekend, and you can see it attached below. It is supposed to represent, together with the tagline, “formidable engineering coupled with a no limits mindset.” Just as the tone of the entire campaign, the clip centers on how fans experience the racing series.

Following the clips will be proximity in-airport and in-city posters, hand-painted murals and social media advertising. The campaign was created with the help of advertising agency Wieden+Kennedy.

For the moment, F1 advertising will be rolled out in Melbourne. Australia, where the season opener will take place at the end of this month. It will later be followed by similar campaigns in China, France, Germany and the U.S.

“We want to create a perceptible shift in how people perceive F1,” said Ellie Norman, Formula 1’s marketing director.

"This campaign switches the focus away from our own echo chamber, instead spotlighting why our fans love this sport. Our brief to Wieden+Kennedy London was to translate its raw, exhilarating thrill into something that will transcend its appeal across the entire spectrum of sports fans.”

The change of strategy for promoting the series comes as Formula 1 rights were sold by Bernie Ecclestone to American Liberty Media Corporation in January last year. The organization is also responsible for dropping the use of grid girls starting this season.