Velo and McLaren relaunch "Live Your Fandom", a global campaign to anchor nicotine sachets in the world of F1

On July 21, 2026, British American Tobacco, through its Velo nicotine pouch brand, announced the return of its "Live Your Fandom" campaign with the McLaren Mastercard Formula 1 team. Open to fans worldwide, this competition invites the public to submit their most original team-related "dreams," with the prize being immersive experiences staged by drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri. This second edition extends an experiential marketing strategy built on proximity, community, and exclusivity. This campaign comes amidst a review of European legislation on the advertising, promotion, and sponsorship of tobacco products.  

A campaign renewed within an increasingly restrictive regulatory framework

First launched in 2025[1] With nine "superfans" receiving exclusive access to the McLaren Technology Centre, the "Live Your Fandom" initiative returns for the second half of the 2026 season in an expanded format: a competition open to Velo and motorsport fans, invited to share their most original experience ideas on the brand's social media channels. The winning entries will be transformed into experiences to be enjoyed throughout the season, ranging from a night spent among the historic cars at the McLaren Technology Centre to a dinner with the team's managing director, Zak Brown.

The competition is officially organized until February 1, 2027, by Nicoventures Trading Limited, the British subsidiary of British American Tobacco. The rules reveal a discrepancy between the campaign's public communication and its actual conditions of participation: while the launch press release merely states "product reserved for those over 18," the rules actually restrict eligibility to individuals aged 25 and over. Furthermore, participants must already be nicotine users. This increase in the age threshold, however, does not alter the nature of the initiative: a nicotine pouch brand continues to build its brand awareness through a long-term association with one of the world's most popular sports.

This campaign is part of a partnership between British American Tobacco (BAT) and McLaren that began in 2019. BAT, which became the team's main sponsor in 2020, is officially presented as focusing on "new reduced-risk products." The European Union already strictly regulates advertising for tobacco products, while nicotine pouches, which contain no tobacco, currently escape European regulations. In France, the law is particularly comprehensive and restrictive. On the one hand, it completely prohibits the sale of these products. On the other hand, it forbids any sponsorship or patronage from a tobacco manufacturer, regardless of the product being promoted. However, other countries have less restrictive legislation. This type of campaign, designed for global distribution on social media, specifically aims to circumvent the most protective existing laws.

An immersive, participation-based marketing strategy

The format chosen for 2026 illustrates a shift towards more participatory marketing than the previous edition: rather than simply offering VIP access to a select few winners, the brand now invites all members of its community to create content themselves, by submitting their experience ideas in the comments section of the launch video released on Instagram. This mechanism transforms fans into active campaign promoters, with each post and share multiplying the brand's visibility beyond the directly targeted audience.

The use of drivers Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, figures with large social media followings, reinforces the identification and desirability associated with the product. The entire campaign—exclusivity, close ties to the team, and the emphasis on performance and speed—draws on tried-and-tested sports marketing strategies, historically employed by the tobacco industry to build a positive image around addictive products. The novelty lies primarily in the change of scale, with a global competition broadcast continuously throughout the second half of the season. This firmly establishes the brand within the world of Formula 1, unlike a one-off event.

The competition rules also specify the extent of personal data collected from participants: identity, date of birth, contact information, and, where applicable, proof of identity for age verification. By participating, each internet user also grants, free of charge and without geographical limitation, all rights to the content of their comment, including their username and profile picture, which the organizer can then reuse in its own promotional materials. The document explicitly states that the marketing and promotion of BAT products are among the legitimate interests justifying this data processing. This mechanism transforms fan participation into raw material for a broader advertising campaign, over which they have no control regarding distribution or subsequent reuse.

A young audience exposed despite the legal disclaimers

Formula 1 is now attracting a significantly younger audience, driven in part by digital content and documentary series dedicated to the sport. However, a previous analysis by the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, focusing on a Velo influencer campaign, had already shown that approximately a quarter of the audience reached on social media was between 12 and 24 years old.[2]. The statement "product reserved for over 18s, contains nicotine and creates addiction" does indeed appear in the official campaign documents, but this type of warning does not prevent the circulation of content: excerpts reshared, taken up by third-party accounts, use of the hashtag associated with the brand escape in practice any age control.

The repeated association between a nicotine product and high-level sport also contributes to normalizing its consumption, by implicitly linking it to performance and to a valued sporting practice, a mechanism already identified in other digital campaigns of the brand associating nicotine sachets with moments of sport or leisure.

©Generation Without Tobacco

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[1] BAT and McLaren in Formula 1, a fan experience used to promote nicotine pouches, Tobacco-Free Generation, published on September 18, 2025, accessed on July 21, 2026

[2] Influencers Promote VELO Nicotine Pouches to Teens and Young Adults on Instagram, Tobacco-Free Generation, published on June 15, 2023, accessed on July 21, 2026