Peroni’s Formula 1 Passion Gets Fans Revved Up

Peroni’s new ad with agency Trouble Maker presents a wild, thrilling, and slightly surreal vision of Formula 1 and the excitement of being a racing fan. Produced by one of the brands who’s sponsoring a team for the F1 Championship – in this case Ferrari – it’s a celebration of the sport unashamedly made for fans, and successfully aiming to get a big “Sport Dividend” boost among those fans.

Peroni sees its partnership with Ferrari as being about what the brand can do to ‘elevate the experience’ of being a motor racing and Ferrari fan. For this ad it drew inspiration from the Italian traditions of passionate sports fandom, particularly the tifosi who follow Scudetta Ferrari through every high and low, and fill the arena with red at the Italian Grand Prix. The colorful flares Italian fans set off at races and matches inspired the plumes of red smoke that blast from the Peroni bottles as they’re opened, and the ad also taps into the tension of waiting for a race to start. Finally we see spectators back home joining in the excitement, the sponsor brand linking them to the action on the track.

As a team sponsor, Peroni have a license to be partisan, and make an ad aimed squarely at Formula 1 fans: they need to show those passionate fans how well they understand the sport. That explains why this ad isn’t particularly trying to win over a general audience, let alone non-fans – trying to put the excitement in a wider context would only dilute it for the fan audience.

But let’s be clear: this is a risk. F1 has a wide enough fanbase that an ad targeting its fans can still be extremely effective even if it’s not particularly strong among the general audience. But it needs to do very well among those fans, gaining a clear “Sport Dividend” in the form of a higher Star Rating. A sports ad which scored below average among a general audience and only managed 3-Stars among fans would not be justified.

What’s clear looking at Peroni’s results is how brilliantly they’ve connected with the fans. The ad gets a score bang on the beer category average among a general audience – but among Formula 1 fans this spot hits a massive 5.3-Stars. It truly resonates among the fans, who pick up on the love of racing and the excitement in the ads, as well as positive surprise at the red smoke.

In other words, Peroni certainly do achieve the Sport Dividend needed to make this fan-centric ad a success. It’s an ad which will prove to Formula 1 fans – and particularly Ferrari lovers – that the brand really gets the sport and what it means to be a fan. Not every sports ad can or should be so specifically targeted. But for a team sponsor, it’s worth doing ads like this which make it clear to fans that the sponsorship isn’t just a matter of money – the brand knows what the fans feel.