F1’s CGI adverts are usually just a bit of a giggle. Most of the time they consist of a Rolex or Pirelli advert on the grass which you don’t really notice until a driver goes off the track, runs over one and breaks the illusion. Sometimes there will also be cheesy message at the start of a race, or – like in Austin last year – the shadow of a massive eagle out of nowhere.
But in Canada, things went a step too far. In addition to the usual Heineken adverts, it seems FOM took it upon themselves to add a load of extra red Heineken stars around the track. They were on the start lights, behind the grandstands and straddling the circuit – and they looked awful.
With little else happening during the race, naturally, the CGI stars became a focus of discussion.
*slow clap*
Well done Heineken pic.twitter.com/IOAgp9pEgK
— Mattzel89 (@Mattzel89) June 10, 2018
F1 always feels like the CGI team have discovered a new toy and want to mess around with it. Those 'star bridges'? Super lame. #F1 #CanadianGP
— Paul O'Brien (@PaulOBrien) June 10, 2018
I swear those are really CGI-Heineken-stars #F1 #CanadianGP pic.twitter.com/klRFjgUKmo
— Perry van Wesel (@Flashback007) June 10, 2018
Where are these stars popping up from? Is the track slowly morphing into Rainbow Road? #CanadianGP #F1
— Lights Out ●●●●● (@LightsOutF1Blog) June 10, 2018
Imagine actually approving this idea in a meeting pic.twitter.com/AGXgKecQCW
— Tom Bellingham (@TommyWTF1) June 10, 2018
@F1 Can we stop with the augmented reality stars and the quotes on the track? They look bloody awful
— WildFire Ultra (@WildFireUltra) June 10, 2018
Look Chase, the fans want good racing! And no Heineken stars! #F1 #CanadianGP pic.twitter.com/K1IKyp6Ed0
— Mattzel89 (@Mattzel89) June 10, 2018
#F1 more interested in focusing on (virtual) Heineken stars than the cars. #SkyF1 #SkyF1 #CanadianGP
— tweetSP0RT (@tweetSP0RT) June 10, 2018
The Heineken stars also made it look like we were inside the communist statue park from GoldenEye. #CanadianGP
— Chain Bear F1 (@chainbearf1) June 10, 2018
The only thing I got out this race was being brainwashed into drinking Heineken.
— WhenF1WasDifferent (@WhenF1Was) June 10, 2018
We’d love to beg F1 not to do this sort of cringeworthy advertising stunt again, but it’s so funny that we actually kinda want to see what they do next.
