I'm sure you've all heard about Tiger Woods' car accident—that he drove his SUV into a fire hydrant and tree in the wee hours of Friday morning, and his wife smashed in the back windows of his car with a golf club, either to rescue him
or to punish him for the alleged affair that hit tabloids days earlier. (Either way, it's kind of ironic.)
Since the accident, Woods has kept up his usual low profile, which would be fine if he was just Tiger Woods the person, or the golfer, and not Tiger Woods the brand. But the athlete raked in about $100 million from endorsements last year, adding to the estimated $1 billion he's earned from sponsors throughout his career, according to
Newsday. And when people are paying to have you promote their sports drinks, razors, Buicks, sports apparel, and whatever else Woods has lent his name to, it's all about image.
Newsday mentioned one new ad campaign for Accenture featuring Woods, which hit newspapers on Monday, post scandal. He's on the golf course and there are obstacles up ahead, but the upbeat tagline reads: "It's what you do next that counts."
For Tiger Woods, that's exactly right.
As reported in the
Associated Press, lots of image experts are suggesting that Woods should pull a David Letterman—come clean about the scandal (or, optimistically, the unfortunate accident), joke about it, and wait for the world to move on. Woods' scant media comments and refusal to meet with Florida police—which agrees with state law, by the way—is actually drawing
more attention to the whole situation, experts say. Basically, the quieter you are, the more people assume you have to hide.
But for now, at least, Woods' endorsements appear to be safe.
Advertising Age cited an online poll conducted Sunday night, where 66% of respondents said they would still trust Woods to endorse their products. We can only wait for new information to surface, and watch how it affects the image of the world's most well-paid athlete.
Do you think Tiger Woods should address the media more directly? How does image affect the success of endorsements?Image Source
I'm sure you've all heard about Tiger Woods' car accident—that he drove his SUV into a fire hydrant and tree in the wee hours of Friday morning, and his wife smashed in the back windows of his car with a golf club, either to rescue him or to punish him for the alleged affair that hit tabloids days earlier. (Either way, it's kind of ironic.)
Comments (5)
First, Tiger doesn't owe anyone anything, except maybe the neighbor who's tree he hit. He has done everything he legally had to do, and he doesn't have to tell anyone anything he doesn't want to. It doesn't matter how famous he is or how much money he makes, he still has the right to his privacy in matters like this. Just because everyone is nosy and thinks they deserve to know something, it doesn't make it so. I actually like the fact that he's snubbing all the media whores that are trying to get in the middle of his private business.
And as for his sponsors, do you really think they want him to talk? If he really had an affair, and if there was really some domestic violence going on that night, there's no way they want it brought to light. His sponsors want nothing more than for this to just go away.
I love the journalistic style of this blog. :)
I feel sick of the women, who are suddenly coming out of the wood works, claiming to have slept with him. And the text messages that says he has sent! (Give me a break!) I think we live in a time when everything is money! It just makes me sick. All news coverages end up about Tiger Woods life!
Well, normally I would say that he is entitled to his privacy. And, I still say that. He is entitled to his privacy!!
However, the media and the general public and potential (as well as some current) sponsors may not agree with that. I agree that he should pull a Letterman. Its unfortunate that he may not be able to get the privacy that he is entitled to without damaging his image, but if that's the way it might be then in order to save said image, he probably needs to pull a Letterman. :(
Image affects the success of endorsements simply because if people think you are no longer a good role model, hardly anyone is going to want to have much to do with you when it comes to endorsing their products. If you aren't marketable that way, you just aren't marketable in large part. If people think Tiger Woods' image is going down the gutter, they probably won't trust responsible parents will want their kids drinking a sports drink that Tiger Woods endorses. Why? Because, if those responsible parents don't want Tiger Woods to be their kids' role model anymore, they will want to show the child that there is no reason to emulate Tiger Woods in any way. And it isn't just limited to sports drinks.
And if people just genuinely don't like you, they probably aren't going to be very impressed with you appearing in ads for Buicks, either.
If it might at all hurt sales, they won't want him endorsing their stuff.
However, that doesn't mean that this is going to happen to Tiger Woods. It could happen, but its way too soon to tell right now, and from the look of that poll, it doesn't look like many people are worried. :p So, I think its safe to say that, at least this time, unless he somehow manages to really step in it sometime soon because of all this, he has nothing to worry about.
Look out for next time, though, if there is a next time. The media and the general public (and sponsors) are only forgiving so many times before they get fed-up with you and throw you to the wolves.
I don't feel sorry for Tiger Woods, he is just another over-paid sportsman. Ok, so the kid can hit a golf ball like no-one else, but does that make him a saint? I think some people are being too soft on Tiger, if he has cheated on his wife and betrayed his family then he deserves a bit of bad publicity. It seems that most of the sports blogs listed online at the sports index Dozensports.com are being too nice. Why can't we say bad stuff about Tiger?
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