Formula One star Sergio Perez has teamed up with the organisers of the Mexican Grand Prix on an initiative launched to reject and protest Donald Trump’s closed border policy and Mexican wall plans called ‘Bridges Not Walls’.
Revolving around the campaign hashtag, the ‘Bridges Not Walls’ initiative sees the race organisers and Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez track owners deck out the circuit’s sponsor bridges with the official F1 logo and the political anti-wall hashtag.
‘It represents many Mexican motor sport fans’ views currently’ says the accompanying race organiser press release.
The 27-year-old Force India driver, one of Mexico’s most famous sports stars, fronted the #BridgesNotWalls photo shoot, is keen to point out that the race has quickly been established as a successful event that welcomes overseas visitors.
‘World class international events such as the Mexican GP provide an excellent opportunity to showcase to the world what the Mexican people are capable of achieving when we work together,’ said Perez in a statement about the campaign.
‘Through this unique global platform, Mexico has been shown as a warm and welcoming destination. The 2015 and 2016 races were award winning, 2017 promises to be even more memorable.’
The campaign launched across the Mexican GP organisers own digital and social channels – including Twitter Facebook,
and Instagram.
It was also immediately amplified through the driver’s personal social media channels which on the whole have a greater reach than those of the rights holder.
These included Perez’s Twitter feed (with its 1.6 million followers),
Vamos Mexico! https://t.co/SLFeH1vdCf
— Sergio Pérez (@SChecoPerez) February 10, 2017
his Instagram account (and its 315,000 followers) and his Facebook page (with its 300,000 followers).
In the campaign press release, the circuit said that #BridgesNotWalls would be proudly displayed and called for fans to attend the next Mexican F1 race on 29 October.
The campaign aims to further boost attendance: building on last year’s impressive Grand Prix turnout at the circuit which saw 340,000 fans attend over the race weekend.
Activative Comment:
Although the campaign does not specifically name Trump, Perez has recently made clear his views about the US election clear in an interview in Spanish newspaper El Pais.
‘Rather than worrying, I believe Mexicans must be united and well informed to keep our country on track,’ he said.
‘2018 is presidential election year in Mexico and it is then that we can raise our voices.’
This combative joint rights holder and sports star campaign follows on from November’s saga following Trump’s election win which saw the Force India driver dump his sunglasses sponsor Hawkers after it made a poor taste Twitter joke about the wall following Trump’s shock election win (see case study).
‘I will never let anyone mock my country,’ Perez said.
Following so many values-led spots during the 2017 Super Bowl (see case study) and the 2017 Grammy Awards (see case study), the anti-Trump sponsor, rights holder and sports star marketing protest rolls on.
Links:
Mexico Grand Prix
https://www.facebook.com/mexicogp
https://www.instagram.com/mexicogp/
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0NDXmH7XVMJKdtZxc-K64A
https://twitter.com/SChecoPerez
https://www.instagram.com/schecoperez/
https://www.facebook.com/sergioperezf1
