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A couple of years ago I was talking to a guy who was a huge Holden fan, you know the type; buys a new HSV every year, reads the HSV newsletter etc etc etc. We started talking V8 Supercars, more accuratley why Holden was so dominant. The answer that he came up with was an interesting one, he had read in his HSV newsletter an interview with somebody fairly high in the Holden tree who you'd think would regurgitate the company line, his answer was that Holden's dominance was down to Ford's lack of driving talent, that Ford's drivers were owners, sons etc. Interesting now that the roles have reveresed somewhat we're now being told it's engineering.
But here's the big call, I think it's in AVESCO's vested interest to have one manufacturer in a dominant role. Think about it, the vast majority of people attending races, buying Merch and watching the odd race here or there on TV are not trainspotters, AVESCO need the populas audience to be able to follow one (never two, always one) thing, whether that be a team, or a brand.
Basketball hit its peak when the Chicago Bulls dominated, Boxing was the order of the day when everybody could cheer on Tyson, ladies tennis had Anna Kournikova and Formula One has Ferrari are we all naive enough to think the marketing department hasn't figured this out, ladies and gentleman, it ain't about the show, its about the brand (and when the ratings start going down, your freshen up the brand... which is why we're seeing first Kimi Raikonnen and now Jnson Button being groomed as the next populas hook.)
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