Tag Archives: scandal

advertising, book

Tiger Wood’s Sponsors Scramble to Reposition Campaigns

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Most Americans watch with intrigue about Tiger Woods and his sexual scandals (see this guy’s video claiming Tiger took him to Medieval Times, played with his golf balls and used his wood on him, or join the ratings of his women at Bleacher Reports). But me marketers are more interested in how Tiger Woods sponsors will handle their public affiliations with the philandering golfer.

Tiger is now, of course, the poster child for professional success at all costs. That fits quite well into business-consultant leader Accenture’s core positioning. But how will other brands adapt campaigns?

tiger woods women

Gatorade’s axed the Tiger “Focus” drink “before” the scandal (opting instead for a Lindsay Lohan “Purge” product line), other sponsors have pulled Tiger ads and remained silent about future plans.

Fortunately, thanks to WillVideoforFood, some of the planet’s most well-known and trusted brands need not suffer the humiliation of dropping Tiger when he’s down, or face the shame of affiliating with him during his, um, “discretions.”

For no cost, I’ve provided prominent Tiger Woods sponsors with some campaign slogans and adaptions that leverage this media sensation… turning lemons into lemon-ball vodka shots.

Tiger Woods hole

  • AT&T: “Better US Coverage Than Verizon or Tiger Woods’ Penis.”
  • Nike: “Just Do Her. And Her.”
  • Accenture: “We Know What it Takes to Pork a Tiger” (see existing ad, soon to replaced with footage of Tiger stumbling out of hotel rooms wearing only socks).
  • American Express: “Do you know me in the Biblical sense? Don’t tell my wife.” Also consider “Don’t Leave Home Without It, dark glasses, and a prepaid mobile phone.” Tiger may simply point to his crotch to punch the word “it.”
  • Gillete: “The Best a Man Can Get” campaign can pretty much stick with its campaign, and Tiger’s “the only thing that matters is today” line. He’ll be saying that a lot to his wife and family in coming months.

There are certainly well-meaning public relations and advertising professionals convening at this moment to determine how they’ll avoid getting mauled by Tiger’s scandal. And they’re reading consumer-generated media to get sentiment ratings and determine how this disaster is already effecting them.

Give those folks a break and toss them some ideas, huh?

Online Video

Rickrolling Controversy: Did Google Exploit Song Writer?

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On a slow news day, one might find some interest in the fact that the author of “Never Gonna Give You Up” feels exploited by YouTube. Seems Pete Waterman earned just $16 from YouTube, despite more than 154 million views of the song.

Pete Waterman vs. Big Joe Smith
Pete Waterman vs. Big Joe Smith

In this corner, we have Waterman…

There was I sitting at Christmas thinking, ‘I must have made a few bob this year with the old Rickrolling‘,” he said.”I rang my publisher and they said ‘You’ll be all right’, until I saw the royalty statement. £11.Panorama did a documentary on the exploitation of foreign workers in Dubai,” he said. “I feel like one of those workers, because I earned less for a year’s work off Google or YouTube than they did off the Bahrain government.”

In the next corner, we have Big Joe Smith, who helped popularize the Rick Astley song and the celebrated practice of “Rick Rolling.” Smith, who was the 27th hire at YouTube and acted as community liaison, told Katie’s Opinion’s Craig Sumsky:

Well actually, the most memorable of all would really have to be the RickRoll on April 1, 2008.  I was behind that whole thing (laughing really hard).  We set it so no matter what video you clicked on the YouTube home page it took you to the YouTube RickRoll channel. In one day I RickRolled seven million people in nineteen countries… who else can say they did that?  We even cleared it with Rick Astley’s people. Good times man, that was alot of fun.  Check out the RickRoll channel on YouTube, www.youtube.com/user/YTRickRollsYou


Gentleman, let the debates begin. Should Waterman have his just desserts? Or is he being a baby because he didn’t make money when his song (as song by Rick Astley) became an international joke?

  • On one hand, an artists deserves his royalties.
  • On the other, I’m not sure anyone made much money on these views (which were largely not monetized with ads).

Need we remind you that all shots must be below the belt?