Is it time to put Bernie in a home?

Just read some more evidence Bernie is not thinking long term.
From ESPNF1:

Bernie Ecclestone does not believe Formula One should be chasing a younger generation of fans because they do not have the money to buy the products the sport advertises.

"Young kids will see the Rolex brand, but are they going to go and buy one? They can't afford it. Or our other sponsor, UBS - these kids don't care about banking. They haven't got enough money to put in the bloody banks anyway. That's what I think. I don't know why people want to get to the so-called 'young generation'. Why do they want to do that? Is it to sell them something? Most of these kids haven't got any money.

"I'd rather get to the 70-year-old guy who's got plenty of cash. So, there's no point trying to reach these kids because they won't buy any of the products here and if marketers are aiming at this audience, then maybe they should advertise with Disney."
Full article: http://en.espnf1.com/f1/motorsport/story/184001.html#smu1yxDhZGXM8Gqd.99

I guess he forgets about all the 70 year olds drinking Red Bull? Or maybe that there are a lot of people of all ages that use Vodaphone, or Shell, Santander, to name but a few sponsors that appeal to a wider audience than Bernie thinks he has.
Without encouraging the young fans you will kill F1 long term but then again Bernie doesn't care about the time after him as it has no financial value to him.

 

What a moron.

1. Young fans become old fans.
2. Years ago Bernie said the internet was a fad. Still the sport isn't embracing it and using it to promote itself, instead it removes itself from every available avenue.
3. He just proved he doesn't care about the sport, just the money.
4. He just proved that he doesn't care about the fans, just the money.
5. He's only looking short term, for the money.
6. He's about as out of touch as you can get with the rest of the world.
7. He's a wan**r
8. Need I go on?


Seriously... this might be my last season caring about F1 unless he goes.

 

The only good thing about this is that if I was someone at CVC or who was involved in any way with the running of F1 I would be horrified and would be seeking to dump Bernie as soon as poss.

 

I know Bernie's always been a bit mad but he really has outdone himself this year hasn't he?

 

Probably legit,

http://sniffpetrol.com/2014/11/14/ecclestone-f1-doesnt-need-cars/#.VGX77PmsV8F


Formula 1 does not need cars, or so claims the sport’s 107-year-old overlord, C. Montgomery Ecclestone.
‘I don’t understand these new fangled things such as cars and autogiros and the electronic videogram machine,’ Ecclestone said yesterday in an interview with Minted Old **** magazine. ‘Formula 1 doesn’t need them. Having a car on the track doesn’t sell advertising. Having an advertisement on the track, that’s what sells advertising.’
‘I simply don’t care about people who are watching Formula 1 for the cars,’ the talking scrotum continued. ‘I’m only interested in people who watch for the adverts. They’re the ones who make me money. And that’s what Formula 1 should be about. Making me even richer. Get rid of the cars, I say. They get in the way and you can’t fit enough Rolex adverts on them.’
‘Money is what keeps me going,’ Ecclestone later admitted. ‘Well, that and the nutrients I extract from orphans.’

 

Ecclestone has totally lost the plot. F1 cannot last much longer with him in control. I had hoped that German justice would have locked him away by now but he managed to pay them off with 60 million. That would have kept Caterham and Marrussia afloat this season and next. It may be necessary for F1 to collapse and then the constructors could regain control and start all over again without him.

 

I'm not supporting what he has said and diplomatically he has dropped a bomb - as others have said, I bet CVC and some of the sponsers are cringing! However (and I say this with my tin hat on) he raises alot of problems that affect branding and advertising in the current era. Demographics and social class or wealth is a massive problem for all brands with every younger generation that evolves. Just to note that is was mentioned that Shell & Santander appeal to most people, but do they? The younger the generation the less likely they are to be able to afford a car, purchase house or use many of the banking products because they have nothing to insure, invest or purchase. Its an ever increasing problem for a lot of business as the potential to develope or maximise and the vertical growth is unpredictable at best, but more probably - limited.

What the mad hatter has failed to do is develop a more appropriate branding of F1 to gain more suitable sponsers, like Red Bull who appeal in different formats to many generations and demographics because of its affordablity, volume and verstality. The days of alcohol, tobbaco, luxury brands and elite financial institutes are long gone! Its a bit like Tesco v Aldi on the high street or the shifting of football sponsers to pay day loan companies - you advertise to a target market for maximum exposure.

The man is right, but for the wrong reasons and he certainly shouldnt be publically advocating the fundemental problem that has been self created by him and the establishment!

 

Because greedy bastards like Bernie are hoarding all the wealth. They're basically starving their own revenue streams.

 

Too true, but that's a different debate all together - and a very emotive one!

The simple fact is that the world has changed, people change and whilst Bernie in his bubble of wealth may be detached from it, F1 isn't!

 

Lotus F1 Team @Lotus_F1Team · 39m39 minutes ago

Confirmation: We like all our fans, no matter what their age or timepiece. #F1

please log in to view this image

 

Bernie Ecclestone: F1 is better off serving rich over-70s than youth

And I quote:

I'm reminded here of the immortal words of Martin Luther: "Give the boy F1 'til he's seven and I'll give you the man". That's certainly how it was for me, anyway. On a personal level, it's hard to blame an 84 year-old for not thinking long-term but on a professional level this sounds suicidal. I suppose there's the usual trolling aspect here but where does the sport fit into this? It seems clear that Bernie just sees F1 as a vehicle to sell expensive stuff, although, presumably, not to "ladies with credit cards", as he so charmingly puts it.

It's also hard to see how Bernie's sacred sponsors will view this in a positive light:

Really, even if I palmed all of Nigel Farage's faces, it wouldn't be enough to cover this; I'm not sure now whether Bernie should be put into a home or sent to a Swiss clinic.


Edit: Sorry, just realised that this has been reported on another thread.

 

F1 has really revealed itself to be a disgusting snob these last few weeks. Im really finding it hard to support it.

 

Same here.

And lolz at lotus!

 

I just posted my thoughts on this on another thread without checking this one first . But anyway, I tried to give up F1 this season because I was disgusted by what it is mutating into but it wasn't easy. I believe that it wasn't easy because I've been watching it nearly all my life. It stands to reason that young people will be more open to getting hooked on the sport than a set-in-his-ways septuagenarian; how can Bernie not see this?

He seems to believe the old adage that there's 'no such thing as bad publicity' but, since the advent of social media, that maxim no longer holds true. If Bernie hadn't dismissed social media out of hand, he might have realised this.

 

He's 84. Most 84 year-olds cannot control their own bowels, let alone a multi-million dollar sport. He (and, as someone raised above, Todt) needs to go. His contacts are not worth the irreparable damage he does the sport's PR every time he opens his mouth.

 

It's weird how in the space of a month we've gone from #ForzaJules to this. I mean seriously, did no-one at FOM or CVC cotton on to the power of social media when THAT was happening?!

 

I'm pretty close myself, the past few season have been awful, this season was the last hope, but all we've done is switch Red Bull for Mercedes.

Added to that Bernie's madness and I'm getting less and less interested every race weekend.

 

I mentioned Todt myself, as in "Where is he and shouldn't he be responsible?" I've heard more from Max Mosley recently than I've heard from Todt; if only we'd heard less from Bernie!

I do realise that Bernie's doing his usual thing, i.e. cause a controversy on the off-weekend between races to sustain publicity levels, but this latest outburst is bonkers. I said a while back that I suspect he's trying to do a Fergie with F1, now I wonder whether he wants the sport to survive him at all.

 

I sort of see where he's coming from, but we need to get the young folks on board for sure, it is a different time now and the social medias do absolutely nothing for me, however my offspring can't seem to live without it.

It is essential to embrace these social tools to spread the word, much as Hamilton Tweets and so on, as do many other F1 exponents.

It is true that the Mercedes car market, Rolex watches, McLaren and Ferrari cars are far out of reach of 15- 23 year olds, but that's where the desire for such things kicks in, and also where ambition and work ethics are founded.

I like Max, have tried to not follow F1 but its in me from 50 odd years ago, when I was around 18 years and I attended my very first F1 race at Brands Hatch, I could only just afford the bloody ticket, but bloody hell was I hooked.

Bought myself a JPS Black and Gold jacket and those stunning JPS girls giving away free fags !!!!!.

Bernie you twat, see the bigger picture, just look at Red Bull, selling a tin full of water and chemicals and running an F1 team on the proceeds ffs.

 

You're on social media now you plum.