NYDN: The Nike Ad Shows Woods Has No Shame

[Captain Hilts]

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/more_sports/2010/04/09/2010-04-09_tiger_ego_lives_on.html

Tiger Woods has been shamed now in a way few athletes, and few public figures, ever have. But when you see this new Nike commercial, the one with the voice of his dead father, you wonder if he has any. Shame. At least we know he's playing the right clubs and wearing the right clothes. Because clearly he and Nike deserve each other. The golfer who brought whole new dimensions to "Just do it" and the machine behind him.

...

It is the repackaging of Woods, as the spoiled golf champion who lost his way, that is so hard to stomach, no matter how far under par he is. We are now supposed to buy the notion that the married man who is alleged to have sent all those text messages to his girlfriends - "I want to treat you rough, throw you around, spank and slap you ... hold you down while I choke you" - is just somebody who took a wrong turn, even though to take that many wrong turns you would eventually drive right off the planet.

...

Earl Woods, who sure had marital problems of his own, who seemed to think he was raising a Messiah and not just a golf champion, is supposed to be Tiger's good angel now. Or maybe Nike's idea of the voice of God.
...
Only at Nike would this be perceived as a kind of wisdom beyond the reach of mortal minds. It almost makes you wonder what other wisdom from Woods the father - from the show-business parents version of Bartlett's Book of Familiar Quotations - ended up on the cutting-room floor. Or maybe they're going to roll out another commercial like this in time for the U.S. Open at Pebble Beach.

[hlthe2b]

1. I admittedly haven't seen this, but it does strike me as

extremely creepy and exploitative.

[Captain Hilts]

2. I saw it yesterday and it creeped me out. nt

[SidDithers]

3. I really can't get too worked up about it...

Everything he does is going to be criticized. If he'd done ads ignoring the whole thing, he'd be excoriated for trying to sweep the whole thing under the rug.

Ultimately, it'll be up to the consumer as to whether he's shamefully greedy or not. They'll buy the stuff he pitches, or they wont.

Sid

[izquierdista]

4. And if you didn't have Tiger...

You couldn't sell so many papers, New York Daily Wipeass.

[NJCher]

5. no shame indeed

Eeeks, did he really say this? ("I want to treat you rough, throw you around, spank and slap you ... hold you down while I choke you"). Oh man. I haven't followed this scandal much so I have to ask.

As a former ad person, I can only imagine the thought process that went behind their decision to do this ad. I shudder.

On another but related topic, I have a student in one of my public speaking classes who works as a golf instructor for some golf association or whatever and he is doing his speech on why Tiger Woods should be forgiven. His speech is based all on economics. He says the revenues for the golf industry are down by about half due to Woods' behavior.

I'd like to use the above text quote in response, so that's why I'd like to know if it's for real and where you heard about it.


Cher

[KharmaTrain]

6. It Got Attention...

A favorite advertising saying is "say good, say bad, just say"...and sure enough this ad has done that. It's gotten tons of free media play which I'm sure the PR people at rushpublican Phil Knight's company are very happy about. For those who are repulsed, they were already paying more attention to the holes Eldrick putted in off the course. This ad was made for those who want to see him win and return to whatever former glory they hold him to be. It's sure to draw lots of eyes to the telecasts this weekend to see if there's another outrageous spot or to either root Eldrick on to victory or crashing and burning. It was meant to polarize and looks like it's worked. Will it sell shoes? Bets are most who think this spot is tasteless weren't their customers anyway.

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

7. Check out Colbert's take from Thursday's show.

He dubbed over Earl Woods' voice. The one with Gene Wilder's affirmation speech to Peter Boyle from Young Frankenstein was one of his funniest bits ever.

Link to clip:
http://www.colbertnation.com/home?xrs=SI_65188063_4491965560_1

@ 1:45

[msongs]

8. he likes to put his things in holes and he likes lots of $$ - that is his true god nt