The corporations that made Tiger Woods the world's first billion-dollar sport-branding icon began to desert him Sunday, signalling the start of the next phase of Mr. Woods's dramatic descent.
Global consulting firm Accenture on Sunday became the first company to officially cut the wayward Mr. Woods adrift, severing a six-year sponsorship deal.
It seems their “Go on, be a Tiger” campaign just doesn't have the same connotation these days. Although the company had boasted about the effectiveness of the Tiger Woods ads, it said that “given the circumstances of the last two weeks … he is no longer the right representative” for its advertising.
At the same time, luxury watchmaker TAG Heuer began taking down ads in Australia that feature the 33-year-old Mr. Woods. A company spokesman said the move was planned in advance, but shopkeepers told the local press they were caught by surprise.
Gillette announced on the weekend it will no longer use Mr. Woods in its television and print campaigns, framing its announcement as an attempt to respect Mr. Woods's request for privacy as he deals with his marital difficulties. These moves come on the heels of Gatorade's decision to axe its Tiger Focus drink, which it said was unrelated to the scandal. His biggest backer, Nike, has so far stood steadfastly behind him, but another sponsor, AT&T, said it's still evaluating its relationship with Mr. Woods.
The rush to dump Mr. Woods seems to have been triggered by the statement released on his personal website late Friday, in which Mr. Woods finally admitted to “infidelity,” rather than unspecified “transgressions.”
His squeaky-clean image has taken a beating as more than 10 women, from cocktail waitresses to adult-film actresses, have detailed their alleged trysts with Mr. Woods. His lawyers have secured an injunction in British court banning the publication of nude photos of Mr. Woods, even though they deny that such photos exist. An insatiable public has lapped up the coverage. Once a subject of appreciative awe, he is now fodder for run-of-the-mill ridicule: DailyComedy.com has 574 Tiger Woods jokes and counting. For his sponsors, the negative associations may have proven too much.
Nielsen IAG measured more than 20 instances through December 7 where a joke on a late-night talk-show paired Mr. Woods with one of his sponsors. Although the mentions generated a higher-than-average recall of the associated brand, that may not be a good thing.
Before the Nov. 27 car accident that exposed Mr. Woods's alleged serial infidelity, 91 per cent of the opinions expressed about him on the Internet were positive, according to Zeta Interactive. As of Saturday, Mr. Woods's positive rating online had fallen to just 41 per cent.
“The saturation of Tiger in the media has heightened the recognition of his sponsor affiliations. But at the same time for these brands, the controversy is contributing to a more negative impact on public perception,” said Randall Beard of Nielsen IAG. “It's the age-old debate: is all publicity good publicity?”
Many marketing experts said Mr. Woods, the world's first athlete to earn $1-billion, will likely never regain his place atop the heap of athletic pitchmen. They say he will always be coveted by sporting-goods companies, but that for business or luxury products there may now be other more attractive options.
British public-relations guru Max Clifford disagrees. Mr. Clifford told the Times of London that Mr. Woods's return to golf, which may be sooner than many expect, would be the most-watched tournament in history. Other celebrities, including Bill Clinton, David Beckham and Kate Moss, have recovered in the long-term from personal scandals, he said.
He added that taking a break from golf is the first positive PR move the golfer has made.
“First, it sends out the right message that his wife and family are the most important things in his life. Second, it will only emphasize that golf needs him a whole lot more than he needs golf,” he said. “The masterstroke would be for Tiger to say he'll go back to golf when [his wife] wants him to, and then for [her] to add that she wants him to get back on the course doing what he does best. That's the dream PR scenario.”
His wife, meanwhile, is the new owner of a six-bedroom house on a small island near Stockholm that can only be reached by boat. Ms. Woods's wife, Elin, became the owner on Dec. 1, one day before Mr. Woods first confessed to “personal failings.”
With reports from Bruce Dowbiggin and wire services
