Widget.com
Ever since the Tiger Woods scandal broke there seems to have been a good old boys network of male journalists and sports commentators who seem to think this isn't going to hurt Woods at all. And that it's really no big deal.
Donny Deutsch, a well known and well respected ad man with his own agency made the preposterous claim on Larry King that Woods might even be more attractive to advertisers now because the scandal shows he is human. Tell that to Gillette and Nike.
It's not likely Gillette, whose parent company is Proctor and Gamble, is going to want to see their entire Lady Gillette line go down the tubes because of sticking with Tiger Woods. And if you think that associating Tiger Woods with Gillettle's slogan, "the best a man can get" wpuldnt be the butt of jokes youre not living on the planet earth.l.Not to mention the potential jokes about why Woods needs a close shave.
As for Nike, there are millions of women athletes and women sports fans who are not going to think Woods cheating on his wife makes him more human.They are going to think it makes him more like a pig and their reaction to Elin swinging the golf club at his head and would be more like, "you go girl".
Nike isn't going to watch maybe a third to a half of their business go down the drain by alienating women athletes and sports fans..
But the other night an ESPN sports analyst chimed in with the male point of view that this might even make Woods a better golfer, He also didn't think it would hurt Woods' endorsement deals.
But maybe the most outrageous defense of Woods came from Ed Shultz, a political commentator on MSNBC usually covering subjects related to Obama's presidency, like health care reform, the economy and Afghanistan.
Schultz went completely over the edge the other night in a defense of Woods that was jaw dropping. You would have thought it he was defending Mohammad Ali after being being stripped of his heavyweight title for his religious and anti-war beliefs instead of a golfer who was caught cheating on his wife with 12 women including two porn stars and, according to Friday's NY Post, a $15,000 hooker.
Listening to Schultz say, " they cant take it away from you, Tiger, they cant take your heart away Tiger, they cant take your skill away Tiger, " I was wondering who Shultz thought "they" were. His wife? His mother-in-law who was driven to the hospital because of the stress Woods caused her? The $15,000 hooker?
Schultz went on to give Woods an unasked for pep talk, making a ridiculous comment about how Woods sponsors will all stand by him and wished that he, (Schultz) could be Woods agent considering all the endorsement deals he thinks Woods is going to get. If Schultz wants to be Woods endorsement agent then he might as well apply for food stamps now.
Nielsen ratings show that since the scandal broke there has not been one Tiger Woods commercial that has aired. Anywhere. And it's definitely a sign of things to come. Proctor and Gamble didn't get to where they are by having men who cheat on their wives with porn starts endorsing their products in spite of what Ed Schultz thinks.
In advertising images and symbols mean a lot and their associatations. Images are chosen often to make a point or to create an association. There is no way anyone can ever look at a picture of Tiger Woods again and not think of this scandal. No advertiser is going to want to be associated with it.
And while the preponderance of male journalists, sports and otherwise, like Schultz, seem to be taking a "boys will be boys" attitude towards the Woods revelations, they seem to be forgetting one thing that advertisers know and know well -- half the planet is female. And most of them aren't amused.
UPDATE: 7 PM EST Tiger Woods has issued a statement announcing that he is taking an indefinite leave of absence from golf. My guess it will be at least a year. And it will also be at least a year before Tiger can even think of any more endorsement deals. If it ever happens at all.
FURTHER UPDATE: Gillette has announced today they are "evaluating" their relationship with Woods. Surprise, surprise.
Comments
Finally, a voice of reason. I hope.
Tiger should join Amway, as they also screw anything that moves. Amway is a scam, and here's why: Amway wants to pay out as little money as they can get away with, so they support the higher level IBOs ripping off their downline via the tool scam. As a result, about 99% of IBOs operate at a net loss, while the top 1% make several TIMES more from their Amway tool scam than from the Amway products. Read about it on my blog, I suggest you start here: Google "Amway the rest of the story" and forward the information to everyone you know, so they don't get scammed.
Wow, you are so clueless, you should have the job of cleaning the grease trap at McDonalds.
Got something to say?
Examiner.com is looking for writers, photographers, and videographers to join the fastest growing group of local insiders. If you are interested in growing your online rep apply to be an Examiner today!