The Power of Nostalgia in Sport Marketing

Last weekend saw the running of one of motorsport’s most illustrious events, the Monaco Grand Prix. It’s a race weekend that is drenched in pageantry and glamour, something that has grown to be a hallmark of the long-running event. For the teams taking part in the grand prix, it’s a weekend they have circled on their calendar long before the season has begun due to the great historic significance of the race.

While they didn’t walk away from the weekend with a victory, McLaren Racing did leave their mark on the race with a distinct one-off look this year. In a strategic partnership with Gulf Oil International, the team ran a new throwback livery on their cars, one that evoked a sense of nostalgia amongst the Formula One community both at the track, and online. 

The retro livery was designed as a tribute to their partnership with Gulf, while also mimicking previous liveries the team ran in their founding years. McLaren Chief Executive Officer Zak Brown spoke of the decision, saying:

“This will be McLaren’s homage to Gulf’s celebrated race car design. We’re enormous fans of brave and bold design, and the striking Gulf blue is among the most loved liveries in racing, a celebrated piece of culture which transcends the world of motorsport. Design has always been important to McLaren – you see this in everything we do from our return to papaya to our stunning headquarters, the McLaren Technology Centre. We’re excited to exhibit this as a team and celebrate our proud association with Gulf in Monaco.”

This isn’t the first time we’ve seen retro designs that have been a nod to motorsport’s rich past. Throwback liveries have become a common sight in North American racing series such as NASCAR and have been quite well received. Namely, at the annual NASCAR race held at Darlington Raceway in South Carolina, it has become tradition for teams to sport throwback liveries that honour past drivers, sponsors, and colour schemes. For the fans, it’s a unique way to experience the sport, being able to see once familiar car designs dart around the track one more time.

Nostalgia has a powerful pull for many when it comes to business, consumerism, entertainment, and sport. As a big Formula One fan myself, it's very cool to see this concept cross into the series with McLaren's latest unveiling, and I'm hoping to see more of it outside of these one-off designs in the future. It has been somewhat of a foreign concept in Formula One up until this point, but I hope it sticks. Perhaps the Monaco Grand Prix could be seen as an opportunity for Formula One to encourage their teams to sport throwback designs more often. In any event, I’m all for seeing more of it, and based on the positive response McLaren received online to their one-off effort, I know I’m not the only one.