26/02/2007
NEWS STORY
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The internet has been buzzing throughout the weekend ahead of today's unveiling of the Honda livery for the 2007 season.
To add to the excitement there have been pictures appearing on the web together with details of a website myearthdream.com which went live on Sunday, even if it was only a 'holding page' bearing the words "soon you can do more than dream".
In the pictures, the RA107 does indeed appear to be covered in a Google Earth type map of the planet, with the only other logos being those of Honda and Bridgestone - which appear on the nose - and a large myearthdream decal on the rear wing.
It's believed that the whole concept is down to former Spice Girls manager Simon Fuller, who was brought on board by the Japanese team in early 2006 in an attempt to give the outfit a youth orientated buzz, to spice up the team's image. Remember, this is a Formula One team we're talking about.
It's believed that in addition to drawing attention to green issues the myearthdream concept aims is to help raise money for environmental causes, with companies and indeed race fans able to make pledges on the website.
In much the same way as student Alex Tew set up a website whereby 'advertisers' could buy a pixel of space for $1 - his webpage being limited to exactly one million pixels, the aim of myearthdream is to sell space on the earth image.
It is understood that Honda has signed up a number of sponsors - due to be unveiled today - but their logos will not appear on the car, but most likely on the myearthdream website. On the other hand it is thought that corporations and advertisers will be encouraged to use the myearthdream logo on their products, thereby spreading the message.
Although Max Mosley is pushing hard for the sport to lead the way on green issues, at a time when the public is being told that fossil fuel burned by cars and aircraft is one of the biggest contributors to global warming, many will find it hard to make the connection between F1 and green, especially considering that thus far in 2007 almost 52,000 miles have been covered in pre-season testing.