Tiger Woods is seen on the driving range after his practice round for the 2010 Masters golf tournament at the Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Ga.HANS DERYK
When Tiger Woods faced more than 200 reporters this week in his first press conference since being unmasked as a serial adulterer, he said he understood why so many of his sponsors had dropped him, but pledged to demonstrate that he could still be a good spokesman.
"Hopefully I can prove to the other companies going forward that I am a worthy investment; that I can help their company." But even before he hits the links at the Augusta National Golf Club this afternoon, at least one of his sponsors is helping the golfer - not the other way around - in a manner that advertising veterans say may be unprecedented.
In a new black-and-white advertisement which began airing Wednesday in the United States on ESPN and the Golf Channel, Nike stands by their man in a way normally reserved in such reality soap operas for the jilted wife. A reflective Mr. Woods faces the camera as viewers hear the voice of his late father, Earl, who died in 2006. "I want to find out what your thinking was; I want to find out what your feelings are. Did you learn anything?" he asks. The ad concludes with an image of the Nike swoosh.
Nike is calculating that its risk is little, and its potential reward enormous, in leveraging its brand in aid of the Tiger Woods' image. But in doing so, they may only be minding their own asset.
"The Tiger Woods brand was built by Nike, and they have a considerable stake in maintaining it," said Nancy Lough, the editor of Sports Marketing Quarterly. "They're staying true to what is the Nike motto - they're willing to take risks, they're willing to make social statements. They don't shy away from those things, especially as other brands are shying away."
The company has helped to rehabilitate its fallen spokespeople before: Last September it re-signed disgraced NFL quarterback Michael Vick after he served an 18-month prison sentence for involvement in a dog-fighting ring.
But no one had fallen so far and so fast as Mr. Woods.
In February, the brand consultancy firm Millward Brown released a Celebrity and Branding study suggesting that his measure of "positive buzz" had plummeted from 81 in December to a score of only 6, while his "negative buzz" went from 2 in September to 80 in February. Only Lindsay Lohan, Kanye West, and Paris Hilton had scores as low.
"You have to be realistic about the impact a new marketing campaign is going to have," said Graham Kerr, an executive vice-president in Millward Brown's Los Angeles office. "It's really got to compete with a huge amount of negative baggage that isn't going to erode any time soon."
And even as Mr. Woods tries to keep his eye on the ball this afternoon, his public image continues to be battered by further revelations of his sexual activities, and disapprobation from unexpected corners. Yesterday, after press reports revealed a 21-year-old neighbour was among his growing cadre of former conquests, the chairman of Augusta National said during a press conference that he was disappointed in Mr. Woods.
"Our hero did not live up to the expectations we sought for our children," Billy Payne said.
Mr. Kerr noted that the marketability of a celebrity endorser depends in part on the intersection between the level of fame - which, in Mr. Woods' case has actually increased since November - and their status as a role model. For Mr. Woods, the downward spiral of the latter is "going to hold him back for a significant number of years to come."
Ms. Lough disagreed. "Nike's doing another huge service to Tiger by testing the waters, and I think you'll quickly find that if the results are positive, other companies will jump."