Jack & Jones’s clever PR move on Mazepin

Jack & Jones is a long-standing sponsor of Kevin Magnussen, which allowed the Danish brand to be showcased at Renault, and then at Haas. With the driver’s move to IMSA next year, it was planned that the brand would follow him and would therefore no longer be in F1 and thus not with Haas in 2021.

But just a few hours before the end of their respective contractual obligations, the brand decided to speak out on social media, stating: « Jack & Jones distances itself from the behavior of future Haas driver Nikita Mazepin in a video posted on social media this month. » It didn’t take much for many publications from various countries, including France, to make headlines during this slow news period, claiming that the brand was dropping the team because of this behavior.

However, it was enough to read the rest of the statement to realize that it was not the case: « It has always been planned that our partnership with Haas F1 Team would end at the conclusion of the 2020 season. No further comments will be made. » Instead of a rare public speech in the hushed world of F1, it is a perfectly executed PR move by the brand, allowing it to attract attention as it exits the discipline while presenting a positive image to the thousands of fans who were shocked by the Russian driver’s behavior.

Recall that on December 23, Haas reaffirmed in an official statement that Nikita Mazepin would indeed be Mick Schumacher’s teammate next year and that the matter had been handled internally. The FIA had also refrained from getting involved in the matter.