New Pirelli Ads Discourage Burnouts

New commercials titled Smoke, 1, 2 and 3 were done by Y& R Milan advertising agency for Pirelli Tyres (for Pirelli) in Italy, and released in December 2010, all aimed at discouraging burnouts in the name of the environment. The ads take inspiration from the warning labels found on tobacco products. They also use a good play of words to discourage tire smoking.

Slogans include “Smoking can cause circulation problems”, “Smoking is highly addictive; don’t start” and “Protect chicks: Don’t make them breathe your smoke”.

As we have described in a previous auto guide, the burnout is the practice of keeping the bike stationary and spinning its rear wheel, causing the tires to heat up and therefore causing smoke from friction.

This is also an illegal practice if it is not performed under controlled conditions, not to mention dangerous even when done by professionals.

Pirelli has already signed deals to supply tires to the British Superbike championship, the World Superbike Championship and, from 2011, the Formula One championship. The month of January will be a full one for Pirelli, as they have two tests scheduled in Bahrain (9-10) and Abu Dhabi (15-18), before the official F1 testing season kicks off in Valencia on February 1st.

In late November, the company has presented the 38th edition of the Pirelli Calendar, “Mythology,” created by none other than Karl Lagerfeld. The 36 photos that make up the 2011 Calendar show 24 different subjects, including gods, heroes and myths. All of the photos are in black and white, and feature 21 protagonists: 15 female models, 5 male models, and the American actress Julianne Moore.