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“Just one day after Woods announced an indefinite break from golf to repair his marriage, Proctor and Gamble, the parent company of Gillette, moved away from Woods saying, 'as Tiger takes a break from the public eye, we will support his desire for privacy by limiting his role in our marketing programs.'” (CBS News)
And Gillette isn’t the only sponsor evaluating their relationship with the world’s No. 1 golfer. Some are standing by him, some are still deciding what to do, and some have removed him from ads.
Woods became the first billion dollar athlete by way of lucrative sponsorships, but now his public image is changing, and he’s taking an indefinite leave from pro golf.
We are looking at perspectives from The New York Times, The New Yorker, NBC Nightly News, CNN, and "Saturday Night Live".
On NBC Nightly News one business analyst says Woods will take a bigger hit than the companies he endorses because the brands are already established.
“It’s more about image than the financials here. I think Gillette would have more of a problem with a Gillette recall on one of their razors in terms of losing some market share to Schick then this with Tiger Woods.”
A writer for The New Yorker presents a more pessimistic outlook on Woods’ endorsement future. He says comebacks may be an American tradition, but it’s rare for an athlete or celebrity to fully regain what they once had, after going through a public image crisis.
“Some have speculated, optimistically, that this may humanize the Tiger. But that’s exactly the problem...what was so amazing about Woods was precisely that he wasn’t like the rest of us—that he wasn’t weak or distracted.”
On a CNN panel one sports attorney says companies may be hesitant to drop Woods because he brings in so many sales.
“The leaders of those companies are saying, 'We make good money off of Tiger Woods. If you’re telling me I have to terminate him tell me how I’m going to make that money doing something else.' And those are hard questions to answer.”
The New York Times looks at another benefactor of Woods’ rapid rise- the PGA Tour- which is in the middle of contract talks with tournament sponsors.
“Although Woods is not solely responsible for the economic growth of the tour, he is given much of the credit for the quadrupling of prize money…The PGA Tour is in the midst of negotiating new deals with the sponsors of a dozen events…uncertainty about his availability will have a negative impact on negotiations.”
"Saturday Night Live" has a humorous take on the PGA's position.
“We’ve still got plenty of superstars. Exciting household names like Jeff Ogilvy. Boo yah! Trevor Immelman. Can you handle the Immelman? Woo! I think the PGA Tour will be just fine without Tiger Woods. And you know what, the sponsors they’re excited too. I mean the PGA Tour. No Tiger. No Problem.”
Tiger Woods, do you view him differently then before? And do you think he will have the same business impact when he returns to the game of golf?
Writer: Joe Henke
Producer: Meg Burcke
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