Since December, a number of major sponsors cut ties with Tiger Woods as sordid stories of his epic infidelity made headlines worldwide. Not Nike.
With Woods making his return to golf today at the Masters, Nike debuted a new TV spot last night on ESPN and the Golf Channel. By mid-day today the spot had more than 630,000 views at the NikeGolf YouTube channel. The Wieden + Kennedy ad is a simple black and white shot of Woods with a voiceover of his deceased father: “I want to find out what your thinking was. I want to find out what your feelings are, and did you learn anything?”
“We support Tiger and his family,” said Nike in a statement. “As he returns to competitive golf, the ad addresses his time away from the game using the powerful words of his father.”
Marketing asked Canadian advertising professionals for their thoughts on the spot. Here is what they told us:
• Shawn King, vice-president and chief creative officer, Extreme Group: This the first time I’ve watched a Nike ad for golf and thought more about Nike than I did Tiger Woods. Notice, Nike hasn’t said they approve or disapprove of what Tiger did. They’ve let Tiger wear the brunt of the issue. They’ve simply decided to try and capitalize on the circumstance and do something they couldn’t have done before or after this moment. You know they eventually had to do something, so I don’t think you can blame them. In fact, I think it was pretty smart on their part.
I’m sure it will leave contrasting impressions on people depending on who you ask, but I know we aren’t the only ones discussing this. The media play alone has got to be worth millions and I’m sure there are a lot of marketing execs at Nike who are very happy campers today.
• Ian Mackellar, executive vice-president, executive creative director, BBDO Toronto: In a word–creepy.
• Angus Tucker, co-creative director, John St.: I like it. (I wish the writers of this spot handled his painfully awkward press conference.) I think it smartly turns the discussion from “What’s the name of the latest Denny’s waitress?” to the much bigger question of “What the hell drives a guy (any guy) to do that?” It humanizes him again after he has been largely demonized for the last five months. And I love that Nike had the balls to do this. While every other sponsor turned tail, Nike actually tried to figure out the problem they were in. Nike has always embraced their athletes’ flaws as much as their strengths: from Charles Barkley’s “I’m not a role model” to Lance Armstrong’s defense against allegations of steroids “What am I on? I’m on my bike. What are you on?” That’s why they’re Nike.
• Alan Gee, partner and chief creative officer, GJP Advertising & Design: Love it. Nike and Woods have been a great collaboration over the years. I think Nike stayed a sponsor because what he did professionally in golf has been phenomenal. His personal life is another matter, and Nike is only interested in his professional career. Having said that, it’s right for Nike to get in on the conversation. And the way it’s done in this spot is perfect. Woods has shown us that he has a conscience, and often has acknowledged his Dad’s influence on him.
This spot goes right to that, and also talks to every father/son relationship to create that link. Nike never fails to do great spots. This simple spot is one of them.
• Ron Tite, vice-president and creative director, Sharpe Blackmore Euro RSCG: What Tiger did was horribly wrong. But what Nike did was brilliantly right. Other brands were willing to ride the coattails of Tiger’s success before throwing him to the curb at the first sign of trouble. Nike, on the other hand, decided to actually support Tiger–not his actions–after he had supported them for years.
It doesn’t say a lot about Tiger but it says more than you can imagine about Nike. As an ad, its brilliant. Timely. Relevant. Honest. But, more importantly, as a belief or as a set of corporate values, it’s truly breakthrough.
