John Hogan - Marlboro

John Hogan has died of a Covid-related illness, aged 76. Much of his career was spent at Philip Morris and, with an enthusiasm for motor racing and an appreciation of its advertising/sponsorship potential, he transformed the sport. Whether we like it or not,

https://www.autospor...hogan--19442021

https://the-race.com...lped-change-f1/

https://www.motorspo...ged-76/4935609/

Edited by john winfield, 04 January 2021 - 11:35.

Very sorry to hear the news this morning from another source.  I didn't know John Hogan well but vividly recall having dinner with him and DSJ one night at the Nurburgring.  I was not amongst the Marlboro fan club.  Indeed I was and have always been instinctively anti-big business tobacco industry in all its forms, disgusting, choking, disease-spreading, camel-dung burning, fumaceous filthy habit that it involves.  Nor have I ever had much time for big-money big-name International motor sport sponsors, one reason why we always insisted upon 'Lotus-Cosworth' instead of 'John Player Special-Ford'.  

However - one also tacitly appreciated how vital such support became once the big-time oil companies ceased picking up the major bills.

Consequently, when I sat down opposite John Hogan in Adenau's Hotel Wilden Schwein I rather expected to meet a glossily glorified used-car salesman, a big-business smoothie with whom I certainly would have zero in common.  But he really surprised me. In fact the John Hogan I met was self-evidently ferociously bright, engaging, he had some great stories and he was also - to my prejudiced surprise - a very knowledgeable and apparently perfectly genuine enthusiast.  I remember being quite deeply impressed.

He was indeed an influential, capable and successful major player for many years behind the scenes of International motor sport's top level, and his name will surely survive within its history.  My sincere condolences now, to his family and friends...

DCN

I was actually quite sad to read this. Like it or not, John Hogan had a major influence on F1 racing in the 70s/80s. He was close to Hunt and Prost in particular and I enjoyed his  Motor Sport podcast a couple of years back -

https://www.motorspo...agazine-podcast

Horrible unexpected news.

John was my best pal from the time we first met in September 1960 until the mid 70s when he decamped to Lausanne. We spent many a happy hour at Brands Hatch in particular, and in the late 60s as far afield as Thruxton and Cadwell Park, as he found some financial support for the likes of John Spero, Gerry Birrell and James Hunt. Fun days indeed.

One inaccuracy in the Autosport obituary - We were at the same crammers at 10 Pembridge Square, Notting Hill as Piers Courage, but although we knew Piers by sight we were in different educational and social groups. Piers drove a 1930s Triumph Gloria and the only car any of us had was a Morris Minor convertible. John was always a people person, never had a driving licence while I knew him, and certainly never "fettled" a car in his life - our free time was spent in the coffee bars and pubs of Notting Hill and Chelsea.

A couple of Johnisms have stayed in my mind over the years - "I thought racing drivers were a bunch of posh public school boys, but they're not", (that was before James came on the scene) and, demonstrating his technical side, "You know McLarens - they're built like brick s***houses", I've long forgotten the context.

I quiet softly-spoken man, John had a strong influence on the sport but never put himself in the spotlight.

My condolences to Annie and their children.

Edited by Kpy, 04 January 2021 - 15:30.

Sad news

RIP to a man who changed the sport. 

Pretty telling that when Senna did the famous Penske test he only brought one person with him. John Hogan.

Telling what, exactly?

Telling that he was of that status. Senna could easily have brought an entourage and turned it into circus but he didn't. Hogan was there as a trusted friend / confidant / adviser.

Edited by Nigel Beresford, 07 January 2021 - 15:44.

Sponsor?

That was my point. Hogan was there because of Marlboro.

Sponsor?

No. John Hogan’s part of Marlboro had nothing to do with Penske. Penske’s deal was with PM USA.

I don't understand.  Surely Marlboro is, and always has been, a Philip Morris Brand.

Different regions had different deals. Phillip Morris USA didn't own the brand in Canada for example - maybe it wasn't even PM owned at all...I neither know or care -  so when we (Penske) raced there the regular PM people came "unofficially" to the event but weren't really there to promote Marlboro in Canada. The F1 sponsorship was based in Belgium or Switzerland (I believe...) and had naff all to do with us. I read that all of the European PM companies contributed to the budget.  All of our dealings were through PM in NYC and latterly in Richmond VA. I believe RP was on the board. Emerson's 96 deal was paid for by PM Brasil since PM USA (and those of us on the ground in the team) felt that it was time for him to move on, notwithstanding.

Edited by Nigel Beresford, 07 January 2021 - 19:10.

I don't understand.  Surely Marlboro is, and always has been, a Philip Morris Brand.

My late step-father (Miles Hutton) worked for Gallahers for nearly 30 years and their main brand in the UK was Benson & Hedges, but in America, the Benson & Hedges trademark/brand was owned by Philip Morris - cigarette companies are much more complicated than you would think 

Pretty telling that when Senna did the famous Penske test he only brought one person with him. John Hogan.

He was paying for that 1993 season just a question of which team ran the car 

No. John Hogan’s part of Marlboro had nothing to do with Penske. Penske’s deal was with PM USA.

You might remember that he did stop by a few CART races in 1999 to check on the progress of Greg Moore who he felt could be a real asset.

I sat in on a PMUSA meeting and John was there, extolling the virtues of Greg's future value.

Jp

My late step-father (Miles Hutton) worked for Gallahers for nearly 30 years and their main brand in the UK was Benson & Hedges, but in America, the Benson & Hedges trademark/brand was owned by Philip Morris - cigarette companies are much more complicated than you would think 

Indeed. As Nigel says, in Canada the Marlboro brand isn't owned by Philip Morris, but Imperial Tobacco Canada, who project a completely different brand image. But even more confusingly, Imperial Tobacco Canada isn't part of Imperial Tobacco UK (now called Imperial Brands plc) either; it's a subsidiary of BAT (British American Tobacco). Other Imperial UK brands which have appeared on racing cars include Bastos, JPS, Gold Leaf, Embassy, Winston and West. Nowadays they also own Gauloises - except in Germany where it's owned by Reemtsma ...

I'm half-expecting the Monopoly board to be censored because of the number of cigarette brands on it; Marlboro, Pall Mall, Park Lane, Piccadilly...at least Strand died off pretty quickly...

I'm half-expecting the Monopoly board to be censored because of the number of cigarette brands on it; Marlboro, Pall Mall, Park Lane, Piccadilly...at least Strand died off pretty quickly...

And don't forget Mayfair, Gallaher's 'cheap' cigarette brand launched in the '90s - I was told the colour of the packet was based on the Monopoloy board colour 

And who can forget Players No 6 Autocross Series ? Back in the days when motor sport press coverage was ...err...rather more wide ranging in its coverage of club motorsport this series garnered plenty of column inches . Awful smokes though , two drags and they were gone . And No 10 were even smaller ... 

Of the brand liveries , Malboro ,  JPS and Camel might have been the most (wince) 'iconic' but the Gitanes livery was , by a long way, the coolest of all . But - gasp ,splutter - a cruel and malodorous smoke   

And who can forget Players No 6 Autocross Series ? Back in the days when motor sport press coverage was ...err...rather more wide ranging in its coverage of club motorsport this series garnered plenty of column inches . Awful smokes though , two drags and they were gone . And No 10 were even smaller ... 

 

Of the brand liveries , Malboro ,  JPS and Camel might have been the most (wince) 'iconic' but the Gitanes livery was , by a long way, the coolest of all . But - gasp ,splutter - a cruel and malodorous smoke   

The Ligier JS29 that was designed for the Alfa engine had Gitanes/ Loto branding which looked stunning, proving beyond doubt that great looking cars aren't always winners. On the other end of the scale Camel, Marlboro Lights (Rosberg in 1986) and Cabin branded cars looked awful.