Johnnie Walker Becomes Official Whisky Of Formula 1

Scotch whisky brand Johnnie Walker has signed a new partnership with the Formula One group that will enhance the brand's global positioning and expand the platform for its responsible drinking initiative, Join the Pact.

The new partnership strengthens the historical connections that the Walker family has with the world of motorsport and Grand Prix racing which go back to the 1950s. Building on those historic links, in 2005 Johnnie Walker established a partnership with McLaren Mercedes which, over the past nine years, has enabled the brand to deliver marketing and responsible drinking programmes around the world.

Dr Nick Blazquez, president of Diageo, African and Asia said: "Becoming the Official Whisky of Formula 1 will enable Johnnie Walker to greatly extend its reach to race fans. As a result of our new arrangement, we will have access to a global television audience of more than 450 million people and a track attendance audience of around 1.5 million every year.

"Equally important, and a key reason for Johnnie Walker to become the Official Whisky of Formula 1, is the huge opportunity we have through this expanded global platform to reach even more F1 fans around the world with responsible drinking messages.

"We believe there is great potential in what we can achieve together. The Johnnie Walker Join the Pact campaign is a proven, powerful programme that is already driving positive change. More than 1 million people around the world have signed the Join the Pact pledge to 'Never Drink and Drive'. We are therefore announcing today our intention to increase our investment behind this programme, activating it in new territories with an ambition of gaining a further five million personal commitments over the next four years."