Earlier this month marked the launch of a couple of significant digital events to make note of. One was the Tiger Wood’s Nike ad featuring the voice of his late father taking on a life of its own in the online viral video world: in less than 48 hours, it was viewed online more than 2.2 million times and drew a slew of parodies, including these hilarious ones.
Another was the launch of the BBDO University Fellows Program, a digitally-oriented youth panel set up to draw ideas, insights and feedback from the brightest young advertising students from universities across the country. The BBDO University Fellows exchange thoughts with each other and provide our teams at BBDO with instantaneous feedback on the trends and happenings in the marketplace virtually via their own proprietary digital channels. We will be featuring their commentary on a regular basis here on the Digital Lab blog moving forward.
To bring these two seminar digital undertakings together we posed the question “What did you think about the recent Tiger and Earl Nike ad?” to our esteemed youth panel. Check out their commentary below.
I think the commercial itself is cool, I saw someone compare it to a similar ad for Kobe Bryant after his scandal. You know, intense, a bit brooding, reflective. If I have a problem with anything, it's the expression on Tiger's face…something about the puppy-ness of his face aggravates me, takes away from the intensity. I do think that this ad has the power to help people forgive Tiger for what he did; the "And did you learn anything?" was a great line to end on.
Whoever it was at NikeGolf who realized they couldn't cut ties with Tiger was a genius, because they stand to gain a whooooole lot if/when Tiger bounces back from all of this.
I think Nike was pretty smart in airing this. I don't entirely subscribe to the "any press is good press" philosophy, but the fact that every other brand has dropped him has given Nike free reign to leverage its own message. I think if this campaign is successful, we might start seeing more ads like this one–thoughtful and more understated, emphasizing the grayness of an issue.
This ad is amazing.
In a matter of 33 seconds, my idea of Tiger Woods evolved from a distant celebrity whom we could point our fingers at (and thanking God the things we do aren't under the limelight) to a respected man's son. A son who, though committing even the most horrendous acts, can be forgiven.
Great PR for Tiger but…
…How does Nike's shadow stand among this?
Dittoing Hannah and Kir-Shan, Nike's brilliant move was to stand behind Tiger instead of ditching. It reflects loyalty, compassion, and fearlessness. It's not "Just Do Good Things Or Else We Have Nothing To Do With You," it's "Just Do It." And if you make a mistake, you may be punished but we got your back.
I'm in an advertising portfolio class right now, and the thing that my professor stresses most is story. "Does it tell a story?" is the first question on his mind after looking at one of our ads.
And while this ad doesn't tell a story – with a beginning, middle, and end – it does evoke one. It creates a what-if story of Earl Woods's reaction to his son's actions. (Granted, some have suggested that his reaction would've been less of a reprimand, but that's neither here nor there). The power to let viewers create that story is what I find most interesting.
I'll echo the previous comments commending Nike for sticking with Tiger. I also think it was a good choice to show the swoosh alone. It's still too soon to show Tiger with their slogan.
good commercial, got to the point, now it's time to move on.
When the Tiger Woods scandal hit, you would have thought aliens just set off nuclear bombs in my backyard. Worship is an understatement when it comes to my dad's feelings towards Tiger. Plus, my uncle who happens to work for Nike, was staying with us that week for the holidays. They were literally jumping off the wall when the news broke- both trying to make predictions of what was to come. It was very interesting to see the reactions of my father and uncle and how they changed over the weeks following the event.
What I made my mind up to be about the whole scandal is this: the guy is a pig, but he is also possibly the best golfer of all time. Nike made a good move by sticking by him. They also made a good move by airing this commercial- it shows the public that Tiger is ashamed. But now I think it it time to move on and time to market Tiger for the athlete that he is, and not the morally corrupt man behind the red shirt. At least for now.
A hypocritical ad. But let's explore it.
I asked myself, is Earl Woods really the right person to use in this ad? A man who also had committed acts of infidelity in the past? Certainly there must be a better person to pass judgement…
But judgement has passed already. The world was quick to judge, to condemn, and they shouted: He is a cheater! He's a pig! He is no saint! True in all accounts.
A quote from West Wing got me thinking…(great show btw…you guys should all watch it!): "The darkness in our sunshine, the shadow in our souls, the biblical sins of the fathers."
Tiger is not perfect, neither was his father. I cannot claim to be perfect, and neither can you. I have no doubt that what he did was wrong. But as Earl Woods asks his son, "Did you learn anything?" I cannot help but be convinced that the only true judgement is in the eye of his father.
The ad achieves what it set out to do, humanize Tiger. Transforming this once ferocious feline into a sad sad kitty cat that we all want to console.
I live in a house with a bunch of guys this semester and the place has shut down with the airing of the Masters. I know friends who visited Augusta for the practice rounds, guys who are down there for the weekend, and lots of people who were watching the first round live in class. Golf is an interesting sport. You have to slow yourself down to follow it. Its pace, landscape, and narration all promote a tranquil sense of poised talent. And yet under all this is fierce competition, huge pressure, and a constant battle of promotions and sponsorship.
Amongst all this, the sport's champion brought the public to its knees with the news of his infidelity this fall. It was a perfect media storm: a fallen hero, constant plot twists and a gold mine of mistresses. What's fascinating is that this story has continued to make headlines for months. In an age when major developments wash away in a matter of hours (see how much coverage John Paul Stevens is receiving in a week) we are glued to the fall of Tiger.
I think in a lot of ways, Tiger is us. He is a man driven by success, who built a career on an undeniable will to be the best. He is a person who sacrifices relationships for standards, turning away friendship for hours of practice. He is a man who cheated on his wife in a nation where marriage is at an all time low and divorce at an all time high. Tiger is America. His work ethic is our style of diplomacy, his success is our creed and his infidelity is an ugly but true reality. For this reason, I think a lot of people have invested themselves in how he responds. He is currently 5 under par.
Nike did publicly what every American has been doing in their living room for the past 5 months. They watched, they waited, they listened for every new development. Nike speaks for the American public with this ad. It wants Tiger to face his actions, it wants him to learn from his failings, and it wants him to enact his own self-punishment. That is what Nike gives us. Tiger, haunted by the words of his father, facing us as a human being.
Michael, you bring up the idea of story and the role it plays in advertising. I think Nike is dead on in the content they give us. With advertising today, the 30 second clip is only the first chapter. The narrative that unfolds is told on blogs, on posts, and in conversation. The only thing is it doesn’t have is an end. This weekend, we get to watch the next installment. In the words of Tiger's father, Nike asked the question. On Sunday, we will watch the response.
I remember seeing this ad while watching the Masters this week. I was a little confused when I first watched it – is this a commercial? The people I were with generally had the same feedback: yes this was a good move on Tiger's part, he's trying to salvage his image and show he's aware of his actions and how they've affected people. Apparently the voice in the ad is supposed to be his Dad who passed away, which in itself is a pretty powerful message. Personally, I thought the commercial was extremely creative and powerful – it did what it was supposed to do, get people talking. Nike started the conversation and now millions of people are talking about the brand and the sponsor. Good work Nike!
Soon after it aired, a friend asked me my thoughts, via Twitter of course. Here's the short of my first impression:
"Creepy. Weird. Ineffective. It's not an apology. It's not an explanation. It's not a sales pitch. What the hell is it?"
The commercial did nothing to change my opinions about Tiger. It didn't do anything to affect my purchasing of Nike, or affect my view of the swoosh brand.
Additionally, it's no secret that Tiger's father had similar problems with infidelity. I'm not sure he was the right person to use for "scolding" Tiger. Oh, and there's the part where his dad is dead. That just creeped me out.
On the other hand, we're talking about it. So whatever it was, it did something right.
You all are writing really well. Good stuff. This is the kind of dialogue I'd hoped we'd have.
I’m definitely with Colby here.
I don’t know about anybody else but hearing the voice of a dead father offering up advice almost as though from the heavens did not provide me any warmth or comfort. It was actually extremely unsettling.
Yes, it got my attention. And Yes, it was thought provoking. However, the taste that was left in my mouth after the fact was not worth the 30 seconds.
I would have to agree with Colby and Michael as well. The fact that the Tiger's father is dead is totally creepy and its also probably the wrong choice in terms of someone to pass judgement. But then again who is to pass judgement?
Honestly, I could care less about the whole scandal; the media has blown it up. I think that people get focused on these types of situations because it makes them feel better… cuz hey if Tiger, Kobe, John Edwards..ect.. can do it then so can my neighbor's husband and not feel as guilty….not to saying that men are the only ones who cheat.
Nike was smart for not dropping him, it says way more about their brand.
On a side note- Tiger cursing at himself in the third person is hilarious.
Everyone's been bringing up some great points. While I can see why many people find the use of Earl Woods's voice a little creepy and questionable considering his past infidelities, I think the the shock value of the piece is causing the buzz Nike undoubtedly wanted. The fact that we're evaluating the ad and even feeling remorse for the media's treatment of Tiger proves this commercial has been more than effective.
On another note, its been interesting how little attention the Masters/Tiger have gotten over here in Britain. Over the past few days British commentators have mentioned the sex scandal only a handful of times. Following the final round the main focus was Lee Westwood's second place finish (even over Phil's win).
Carly- Definitely agree. "Tiger Woods, you suck" was amazing
I've been thinking about this commercial, but I can't seem to really come to a conclusion about it. I guess I feel like I'm judging Tiger if I do draw one. Just like others have stated, it was good for nike to be the messenger in times of turmoil for tiger and his fans. Someone said that Tiger was the symbol of America- but I disagree with that- or I certainly hope not. I think that's what this commercial is striving to say, to put a spotlight on the fallen hero, to stir empathy, and wow, I think I just convinced myself that this is an amazing spot. I do feel empathetic for Tiger for the last half of the 33 seconds, and that's enough for a new start.
I don't know if any of you guys have seen the spoofs being made since the commercial aired, but a friend of mine shared this link with me, I thought it was pretty funny.
http://www.cracked.com/video_18170_rejected-version-new-tiger-woods-nike-ad.html?utm_source=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.cracked.com%2Fvideo_18170_rejected-version-new-tiger-woods-nike-ad.html&utm_medium=RelatedLink&utm_campaign=RelatedLinkTest_2009.1cp=1&pid=1
morgan can put his voice anywhere and ill be happy
nice clip
Yeah, there are a bunch of spoofs on youtube. Haha, the one with Morgan is pretty funny. Here is a great article on different spoofs, http://theweek.com/article/index/201804/Top_5_Tiger_Woods_Nike_ad_parodies.