Thursday, April 8, 2010

Tiger Woods - love it or hate it

Yes, he 'sexted' a bunch of ladies, cheated on his wife, humiliated his family, his friends, his sponsors. He's a dog. But if nothing else, America loves a comeback story. Look at Britney and Martha. And if Jesus Saves, well, then all the better story in the money-loving, God-fearing man's world that Tiger golfs in.

I have alot to say about Tiger. A supremely gifted golfer, but dumb as a post. His 'people' were complete baffoons and his emotionally revealing press conference a few weeks ago was just part of an overly scripted timeline to get him to this day... the day the 2010 masters begin.

To commemorate the eve of Tiger's return, Nike aired a 30:second black and white ad. A single camera locked on Tiger's face while a narration of his deceased father played in the background. How did WK ever find the dad's script in the first place is a miracle. This Nike's ad is perfect. Not because its an amazing execution, I'd say its a little heavy on the pouting face. And while I do feel emotion, its mixed. However, to me what makes the ad great is the timing and the assumptions it makes. It assumes you know Tiger's story. It assumes you know its the day before the masters, the day before the big comeback (in fact it assumes a comeback). It assumes you know about the importance of his father in his life.

Way to go Nike. I liked how you protected your brand, and delivered a provoking piece of creative. You aren't being direct in your approval or disapproval, in fact you detach your own opinion of the situation. Yet somehow you were able to tell a story and start a conversation at the same time.

Love it or hate it, this ad is the best timed, beautifully orchestrated bit of messaging that has come out since, well, since Tina Fey looked amazingly like Sarah Palin and brought down the republican party.

Tiger is lucky to have Nike. And Nike is lucky to have Tiger. Milk drinkers won't get the job done on this day. Apparently, golfers who have a penchant for pole dancers and who wear Nikes just might though. If Nike did a boring ad of golfing greats, I would've gone unnoticed. So would the story of an old duster cheating on his wife. Tiger has been given a mulligan, and people want to see what he'll do with it.

click here for more perspective from Canadian marketers.

2 comments:

Jess said...

And so it begins....
http://perezhilton.com/2010-04-08-tiger-gets-punkd-at-the-masters

KOD said...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=evvMElbG_n4&feature=player_embedded#