$16 Billion Social Media App Comes Out With the Most Innovative Ad With Mercedes W15

Anirban Aly Mandal
|Published Feb 19, 2024 03:38AM UTC

At the end of 2023, Mercedes welcomed a brand new sponsor. WhatsApp partnered with the Silver Arrows in a historic first-time deal for the Meta-owned online messaging platform. It has been understood that this collaboration also comes along with exclusive team content and in-race updates through the ‘Channels’ feature of WhatsApp, per Associated Press.

In the buildup to 2024, Mercedes and WhatsApp have pulled off a marketing masterstroke. In the launch day tweets on their official X (formerly Twitter) handle, they revealed an interesting addition on the W15’s 2024 steering wheel. It will consist of a WhatsApp button, which amazed a huge chunk of the F1 community. But what is the button for?

Loading embed tweet https://twitter.com/fiagirly/status/1759209458062745936?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

While Lewis Hamilton and George Russell won’t be able to ‘WhatsApp’ their colleagues on the pitwall, the button has actually replaced the radio button. A neat little innovation. However, as soon as it was revealed, fans on social media started producing meme-worthy reactions.

Mercedes and WhatsApp’s W15 collaboration takes the internet by storm

As soon as the pictures of the W15 steering wheel sporting the WhatsApp logo went viral, fans rushed to X, to share their reactions. Whilst many were commending the marketing genius behind the move, many fans also took the opportunity to light-heartedly troll the team.

Fans took to social media to repost this innovative radio button. However, they started referencing potential radio moments and other tidbits to craft really hilarious memes.

Loading embed tweet https://twitter.com/allezlando/status/1759226434038427818?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

Loading embed tweet https://twitter.com/ErenAMR/status/1758918127826444619?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

Loading embed tweet https://twitter.com/LNFOURS/status/1759227774105956849?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

Jokes aside, for the last two years, Mercedes has suffered a terrible dip in form. The Silver Arrows have only been able to muster a single win in the last two years, and going into 2024 it is a make or break season for their championship hopes.

What’s more, despite this rejuvenating entry of WhatsApp into the team as partners, the Silver Arrows have confirmed that they are going to lose Lewis Hamilton to Ferrari in 2025. Given how important Hamilton was to Mercedes’ own popularity and fanbase, this is going to be a hefty blow to deal with.

Post Edited By:Somin Bhattacharjee

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About the author

Anirban Aly Mandal

Anirban Aly Mandal is an F1 writer at The SportsRush, with over 1000 articles under his belt, Anirban's love for F1 started when he discovered a copy of F1 2014 on his computer. With over half a decade's worth of time spent religiously following the sport, he’s dived deep into the world of motorsports. However, Anirban's expertise goes beyond just writing - he has also written several academic papers focused on the domain of motorsports and the law. His passion for the sport is so immense that he aspires to work as a legal advisor in the most prestigious racing series in the world someday. When it comes to Formula 1, Anirban finds great pleasure in re-watching classic races and idolizes the likes of Ayrton Senna, Nigel Mansell, and Sebastian Vettel. His top picks include Brazil '91, Silverstone '92, and Germany '19. Outside of the sport, Anirban is an avid sim racer, often found racing on titles like Assetto Corsa, F1 22, and Automobilista. Apart from his interests in gaming, Anirban has a keen interest in philosophy, literature and music.