MOST Formula One motor racing fans admire Lewis Hamilton for the things he does on the race tracks.

But Mr Lin Menuhin is more impressed with what the McLaren- Mercedes race driver does not do.

'I have never seen Lewis lose his temper,' said the 44-year-old alcohol and responsibility director for Diageo (Asia Pacific), the holding company for scotch whisky brand Johnnie Walker, which sponsors the Formula One team.

'His level-headedness is exactly what we were looking for when we launched our 'Join the Pact' campaign.'

The Briton explained that campaign promotes responsible driving by asking the public, as well as celebrities like Hamilton and two-time Formula One champion Mika Hakkinen, to sign an online pledge stating they will not drink and drive.

It is a unique marketing campaign that tries to dispel the negative image associated with fast cars and alcoholic drinks like Johnnie Walker.

The whisky brand has always been a pioneer in alcoholic-beverage marketing, with its long-time sponsorships of sports teams and events like the Johnnie Walker Classic golf tournaments.

Why did Johnnie Walker take the plunge into sports sponsorship?

For golf, it's simple - there are no greater Scottish exports than golf and scotch whisky. So the link with golf was very easy to make.

As for Formula One, it was because of our shared values with McLaren-Mercedes. Owner Ron Dennis is very keen on this partnership.

He feels that there is no better winning team than McLaren, and there's no scotch more successful than Johnnie Walker. So, it was a neat fit.

In terms of philosophy, the partnership goes well with our tagline, "Keep Walking", which is about personal progress and achievement in life. That fits very well with the ethos of Fomula One, and what the drivers have go through to get to the top of their profession.

Of course, McLaren have a great reach via Formula One's media platform, with a global reach of about 800 million viewers per race. The visibility we've had over the past three years of sponsorship has been fantastic.

How did the 'Join the Pact' campaign crystallise?

We believe that moderate and responsible consumption of alcohol is consistent with a healthy and enjoyable lifestyle.

Previously, we would only stick the brand name on the car or the uniform. This time, we want to use the sponsorship to drive home the message of responsible drinking.

So, it was a very ground-breaking decision.

On the day we launched the campaign in Singapore, we've had 13,000 signatures for the pact.

We're planning more events to drive traffic to the Join the Pact website.

It's very important for Diageo, the world's largest alcoholic-beverage company, to take the lead in the drive for responsible drinking. It's not in our interest for our consumers to abuse alcohol. We don't want them to get into a terrible accident, and not ever drink our brands again!

How did the two F1 stars, Hakkinen and Hamilton, respond to the campaign?

Brilliantly. When Mika was invited to become our responsible-drinking ambassador, he was really excited because he understands what it means to stay in control. You don't become a two-time Formula One champion if you're not responsible and not ahead of the game.

Hamilton is a phenomenon, a fantastic young ambassador for the sport. Plus, he's British, and we're a British company.

With these two drivers' assistance, we've set the bar very high.

We've signed another two years of sponsorship with McLaren-Mercedes, and look forward to continue our marketing drives under this campaign.

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