![image6373079[1].jpg](http://www.urbanmoms.ca/father_knows_best/image6373079%5B1%5D.jpg)
Earlier this week, Nike released it’s first ad featuring Tiger Woods since ‘the scandal.’ There’s been a ton of controversy over the ad, with everyone weighing in on its morality and efficacy.
If you haven’t seen the ad, check it out here.
I won’t beat around the bush: I love it. I think it should win awards for the agency that produced it for Nike. Whoever came up with the idea should be given a raise and promoted immediately.
Here are five reasons to prove my point of view, in no particular order.
1. It’s beautiful.
The black and white treatment lends an elegance that, quite frankly, Tiger’s actions don’t deserve. That it starts with a close-up, and slowly moves closer still, shows Tiger in a vulnerable and compromising position, which adds a great deal of tension. Close-up shots make most people feel uncomfortable to begin with, but all of the additional context makes it impossible for a viewer to turn away. This isn’t an ad, it’s visual art at its best.
2. Nike makes the best of a bad situation.
If I am not mistaken, Nike is the only company that stood by Tiger’s side during this whole ordeal. This means that, at some point, their intent was to start airing ads that featured Tiger again. With this first ad, they had two choices – focus on Tiger’s undeniable golf skill exclusively, ignoring his philandering in the process, or address the issue head on. They have managed to do the latter, with great success.
They don’t take sides. They don’t paint Tiger as a hero or a villain. They simply challenge Tiger to prove that he can be a better man in the future; in other words, to prove that they weren’t fools for standing by his side. From Nike’s perspective, this is genius because it gives them an out should Tiger fail to meet expectation in the future.
3. It’s effectively shows Tiger’s shame.
Everyone is up in arms because Nike used Tiger’s dead father in the voiceover. I think it’s incredibly effective at illustrating Tiger’s shame, which is ultimately the theme of the ad.
Tiger is clearly a man who valued his father’s opinion. His Dad was a confidant and a hero to him. The voiceover essentially consists of a grown man being chastised and reprimanded by his father, and the quick zoom-in at the very end of the ad, when Tiger’s Dad asks “… did you learn anything” is the defining moment in this public humiliation.
Any man who is a Man, will recognize the tremendous strength and power in the suggestion that Tiger’s Dad is ashamed of him.
4. It does exactly what an ad should do.
Like it or not, Nike wants to make money. Nike has people talking about their brand just as golf’s biggest tournament of the year gets underway. More people pay attention to golf during the Masters than at any other time during the year, and now people are talking about Nike too.
Think about it – beer companies will spend millions more than Nike did on this ad during the Super Bowl. The beer commercials will be far more offensive than this ad is, and they won’t be nearly as effective at getting people talking about their brand. This commercial is incredibly effective at being a commercial.
5. Tiger looks defeated.
The part of me that loves media, loves the ad for its merits as an art form. The part of me that hates adulterers loves the ad because Tiger looks beaten, exhausted and broken. This may not be a real reason I think the ad should win awards, but it needed to be said.
There you go, four legitimate reasons I love the ad, and one other reason. Do you agree? Disagree? Let me know what you think.
Tiger Woods and Elin Woods are getting divorced after all the drama. Oh well, that must be better than misery. Hopefully that he’ll be able to focus on golf once more after all this.
Tiger Woods cheating on his spouse… god. I wonder if he wrote BP a “Thank You” card for distracting all of the media from him. It is impossible to cheat on yoru wife forever when you have that kind of celebrity. It is hard as heck to do whenever you don’t have any celebrity and nobody knows who you’re, but come on? The most well-known golfer available?? He had to know it would happen.
Couldn’t disagree more. Which got me thinking as I went for a 5-mile run in my Nike shoes.
I’ve got two little girls. I want them to grow up to be strong women that love sports–just like their mom does. So as their role model I want them to see me use my purchasing power well. Not only to I track trends, but I also try to steer moms into spending money wisely. I’m certainly not going to be giving Nike my dollars anymore (two pairs of running shoes a year–roughly $200) to spend on athletes that at the very least don’t respect women. So I’m asking you all to think twice before plunking down money for Nike shoes and apparel. As for me, I’m returning the promotional outfit I received last year for review. What I really wanted from Nike post the car-bashing, texting scandal was an ad like this…
Fade in: we see Tiger teeing up a ball for a young girl. He steps back to watch her swing and nods in approval as she smacks one right down the fairway.
Narrator: Nike supports golf programs for girls. We know that the future of the sport is in their hands. When was the last time you took your daughter out for a round of golf?
You get the picture. Until moms realize the power we have in our purchases these massive sporting brands will never change. If you haven’t seen this video take a look.
You can join other moms in a boycott here:
http://momtrends.blogspot.com/2010/04/moms-boycott-nike.html
Great feedback everyone! This is definitely going to be one of those ads used as case studies in advertising (and ethics) classes in the future!
This just in – the ad may have pushed Tiger’s wife Elin over the edge, and the two are almost certainly headed for D-I-V-O-R-C-E…
What Pat Gray said.
Shawn – if Tiger’s dad wasn’t dead and had entered into doing this ad voluntary, then maybe I would agree with some of your points above. The fact that Nike AND Tiger have used the memory of his passed father, in order to gain publicity, repair image and inevitably sell more Nike products – really makes me sick to my stomach.
Not only is it in poor taste for Tiger to exploit his dad for a mighty dollar, but it proves the point that Tiger is nothing more than a very manipulative and savvy business man who has ZERO remorse for what he’s done, but rather is remorseful for the dollars that he’s lost by getting caught. Pathetic.
While the ad succeeded in making people talk and discuss, it failed in the thing it was designed to do: sell more stuff. I purposely did not shop at Nike because of this ad, and probably never will again. While I appreciate your opinion, I found all actions despicable… Nike doing the ad, Tiger agreeing, the voice-over of his dead father… all are gross actions.
It really confirms my continued boycott of Nike. Nike was the Goddess of Victory! The sporting goods company has brought shame to her image as has Woods to his family, golf and professionalism.
I agree that it is a visually stunning ad. It sure got Nike some wonderful free publicity.
Nike should have stood by Tiger because they sell athletic apparel and Tiger is an athlete – and a fabulous one at that. His private affairs have nothing to do with that.
Because of my cynical nature, I was not shocked or surprised when news came out that he had many affairs, it is something I guess I always expected of a man with tons of money, youth, success, looks, and ego who spends a ton of time away from home. What shocked me is how many women were willing to publicly air out their panties to get their 15 mins. It is not a double standard, it is just my intense desire to keep private matters private. I believe it is more shameful to very publicly talk about these things for personal gain than to be involved in an affair in the first place.
I have always loved Nike products, and this has no impact on that.
This is what I think – Tiger had no choice.
Nike said .. you want us still? This is what you have to do.
Everyone is talking about it .. case closed – they won.
Tiger missed another boat by saying, Nike wanted me to do this .. I said no, they dropped me .. hello adidas.
I don’t like the ad because I think they should stick to selling sports equipment. I may take a hit for this note…but sports figures and celebrities should not be considered role models for anyone especially our children.
They are overpaid, over worshipped, over honored and totally need to get over themselves. Nothing in their lives resembles normal, we tell them everyday by the undue attention we give them for every little thing they do that they are above the law, and are almost “respected” for bad behavior.
Tiger simply falls into a staggering statistic of unfaithful spouses that is growing substantially.
If anything, this incident is probably one of the most normal aspects of his over the top celebrity life. And that deserves a commercial?????
Agree that’s it’s a beautiful commercial- but contrived “apologies” don’t sit well with me.
He should just play golf and keep this matter “private” like he said he wanted to…not use it to help benefit a sponsor brand.
Also, as an aside, stop the boring press conferences where nothing of importance is said…
I’d love to hear some opinions from the other side. From the men.
I wonder if there would be a gender division on this topic.
I’ll have to ask my hubby his opinion on about the ad…although I have a feeling he’ll shrug and say something like “I dunno…whatever…”
hey Shawn
I get a couple of your points – but let me bring these up and see what you think.
a. the voice over from Tiger’s dad was from a documentary where he’s speaking to his wife. Not Tiger. So trying to get sympathy by using his dead father, they sort of should have thought people would know this.
b. Tiger’s dad, while he was his hero, was also his role model. His philandering ways were well known. The apple doesn’t fall from the tree.
c. Tiger was in bed with his mistress when his dad died. Again documented with texts. Using Earl’s voice just reminded me of this.
So while I agree with you – the ad served it’s purpose, it also makes me sick and made me throw out my son’s Nike hat. I won’t be supporting a company that, while protecting it’s biggest asset understandably, really made me sick.
**oh and it should be said, I was actually not okay with tiger’s cheating before the ad, but wasn’t surprised and thought he was getting more crap than he deserved. Now, he deserves what he gets for okaying this.**
oOOOh i’m off my soapbox now. Great post though – I’ll be curious to read all the comments!
I am on the fence about the ad. I think that private matters, should have stayed as private. Although, when an athlete or actor becomes part of public life, then they are opening themselves up to the vulnerabilities that this entails. I do not agree with the ad for the exploitation of his personal life with his Dad, but Nike is in the business of selling ads and not nurturing Tiger’s personal life. That is Tiger’s job. Nike has done their job.
Dead parents should not be used to benefit anyone’s career. I thought he was a total idiot for cheating and thinking he would get away with it, but was willing to separate his skills at his sport from his personal mistakes. Now, ironically, I really feel this man has gone too far. He has added exploitation of the dearly departed to his list of unforgiveable actions. As my five year old would say quoting Bugs Bunny “What a maroon!”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=evvMElbG_n4
I like this version better.
Nike has no soul. But we already knew that.
You made some really good points, Shawn, and I actually agree that this was a good move by Nike. However, I am just not sure it is going to work. Maybe it is too soon? Maybe it is because his dad has passed? Maybe it is because Tiger’s vulnerability seems contrived? But whatever it is, this ad made me both uncomfortable and a bit embarrassed. To be honest, I had to turn it off. I have yet to watch the whole thing. I think Nike was smart to stick with Tiger through this but the jury is still out in my books as to whether this will be a successful venture back into the ad game for this duo.
I agree with you – the ad is brilliant.
However, I think it is unfortunate that Tiger had to let Nike ‘go there,’ after fighting to keep private matters, private. I still contend that what he did is none of the public’s business and should never reached the coverage that it did.
I think the ad validated the negative coverage and attention by addressing it. Tiger let Nike dignify it with a response, which is unfortunate.
I’m still undecided.
I wholeheartedly agree with your #2 point.
But the commercial is awkward to me. Feels like I’m in a staring contest with him.
It doesn’t move me and I find it bizarre that they’re using clips from a doc that was done years back and Earl Woods is actually talking about his wife/Tiger’s mom…