Winfield (cigarette)

Winfield is an Australian brand of cigarettes, currently owned by multinational company British American Tobacco. Cigarettes are manufactured and imported by British American Tobacco Australia (BATA), a subsidiary of British American Tobacco.[1]

History

Winfield was first launched in 1972. Winfield has been mainly sold in Australia and New Zealand, but was also sold in Papua New Guinea, Singapore, Malaysia, Canada, Luxembourg, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, France, Austria, Italy and South Africa.[2][3]

Sport sponsorship

Winfield was a major sponsor of sport in Australia until outlawed by the Tobacco Advertising Prohibition Act 1992 that banned all tobacco advertising and sponsorship starting from December 1995 onwards.[8] Some limited exemptions were granted for the Australian Grand Prix and the Australian Open Golf, hence Winfield was seen at the Australian Grand Prix in 1998 and 1999 when it was the title sponsor of the Williams F1 Team.[9][10]

Auto sponsorship

Winfield was the main sponsor of the Williams F1 Team in 1998 and 1999.[11][12][13] The sponsorship was part of the deal Williams signed with the then-parent company of Winfield, Rothmans International, whose flagship brand had sponsored the multi-time world championship team since 1994. Among the drivers who ran under the Winfield colors for Williams were former world champion Jacques Villeneuve and former IndyCar Series champion Alex Zanardi. The arrangement came to an end following the 1999 season as British American Tobacco had purchased Rothmans International, and since they were already owners of their own Formula 1 operation, they chose instead to focus their sponsorship on their own team.

From 1992 until 1995, Winfield was the title sponsor of the Australian motor racing team Gibson Motorsport. Highlights included Mark Skaife winning two Australian Touring Car Championships in 1992 and 1994, as well as the Australian Drivers' Championship in 1992 and 1993. Skaife and Jim Richards also won the 1992 Bathurst 1000.

The banning of tobacco sponsorship before the 1996 season has been laid down as a significant contributor to Gibson Motorsports demise since its glory days of the early 1990s with the team folding during the 2003 season, despite a Bathurst win in 1999, never achieving the same level of results.[14][15]

From the 1970s until 1995, Winfield sponsored a number of high-profile teams in Speedway and Drag racing.

Motor sponsorship

Winfield also sponsored the Honda Team in the Australian Superbike Championship from 1986 until 1995. Malcolm Campbell won the 1986, 1989 and 1990 editions in the Winfield-sponsored Honda VFR750F and Honda VFR750R bikes. and later Troy Corser and Anthony Gobert would also win the 1994 and 1995 editions with their Honda RC30 and Honda RC45 bikes.[16] After the Tobacco Advertising Prohibition Act 1992 was passed, Winfield no longer sponsored the team.

Winfield also sponsored the regular Superbike World Championship in 1994 and 1995,[17][18] as well as the annual Winfield Triple Challenge at Eastern Creek each January between 1992 and 1995.

Other sponsorship

From 1982 until 1995, it was the title sponsor of the New South Wales Rugby League premiership with the winner of the grand final receiving the Winfield Cup. It also sponsored both test and club/franchise international rugby union in South Africa from 1995 until 1999 when tobacco advertising was prohibited there.

type	Cigarette
currentowner	British American Tobacco
producedby	BAT Australia
country	Australia
introduced	1972
markets	See below
tagline	"...anyhow, have a Winfield", "Australia's own since 1972", "The Genuine Australian"
footnotes	Carcinogenicity: IARC group 1

Winfield (cigarette)

History

Sport sponsorship

Auto sponsorship

Motor sponsorship

Other sponsorship

Controversy

Fake cigarettes containing more tobacco

Winfield products

See also

References