London, England - Shot in somber black and white and narrated by the gravelly voice of his dead father, Nike’s latest advert showcasing Tiger Woods is certainly a departure from the affirmative, high-energy missives of old.
In golf's new era of moral austerity, it appears to herald a new approach by the U.S. sportswear manufacturer, who have stood by their man as the rest of the corporate world has deserted him.
Nike has faced a nagging problem: how can you capitalize on the intense publicity garnered by your brand ambassador without appearing to condone his many indiscretions?
Sparse, yet strangely obtuse, Nike packaged Tiger and the famous Nike swoosh into 30 seconds of contrition.
But will it be enough to convince the Augusta crowd ahead of what is arguably the most anticipated round of golf in the history of the game?
The advice dispensed by his father from beyond the grave seems oddly prescient. "I want to find out what your feelings are," he asks. "And did you learn anything?" Those questions will begin to be answered when Tiger tees off this lunchtime
What do you think of the advert? Is it timely? Or does it fail to convince you? Has Nike been right to stand by Tiger Woods? Leave your comments below.
Tiger is a disgrace. I could really careless about a person's personal life, and find it funny how Americans live vicariously through their celebrities. That said, Tiger is a joke. By agreeing to Nike using his Dead Father's voice is just another low step into the bizarre!! Get Real people!!
when are they going to stop this nonsense, its starting to get OLD.
I thnik it is deplorable....using his father in a way that no one knows what he would have said...not even Tiger. Why is it that we make all of these concessions for celebrities? The largest marketing team in the world making a dollar on bad things someone did to his own family...he didnt do anything to us...he did it to HIS family.
I wont ever consider these products again. The company and their brand are just up to their usual exploitive tricks.
Its always easy to conderm other people while concealling our own secretes. Who among us will throw the first stone.? Please leave this man alone he has had enough of our condemnation. Whatever he did is between him and his immediate family full stop.
When i first saw it i thought this has to be some youtube kid making some parody video of tiger, but it isn't. Shameful really.
We are not innocent of shameful acts neither are we the best.He erred and now he has realised his mistakes and have even gone ahead to give a public apology.as for Nike am happy the stood by him through thick and thin
Let him without sin cast the first stone.We have all sinned and falling short of hhis glory.There is none righteous on the sun and it goes on and on,pple need to give the guy a break.Frankly i dont care about the details of the ad.Wot counts is that they stood there for him when everyone called him names.We all live right or wrong by Gods grace.None of you negative critics can walk a step in woods shoes.God be with you tiger,he will see you through.
It would seem appropriate to let all of this fade into the background, not keep it alive. Tiger made a personal mistake. He is a professional golfer and unless it hurts his golf game, I say let it die!
I bear no grudge for woods because he did me no wrong.of course i frown on what he did but i am a sinner too.i think its time 2 concentrate on the beautiful game he plays.as for NIKE i am just indeferent
This shows how incapacitated and backward the company and wood could be,i can't imagine they are considering this unhealthy and irritating idea..or is it that no more creative and indispensable clue in the world again ?Tiger and so call company has just made me and my clue change our mind
Creepy !!! and not necessary-
Can u stop please talking about this guy...who is he ? if not just a golf player...what does he means for humanity...nothing, zero, air emptiness, void...let him be happy with his games and prize money with no jealousy at all, but please talk about important valuable people who make sens in their lifetime for humanity...Tiger Wood, Tiger Wood, Tiger Wood...and so what ??? a guy hitting a golf ball better than others and became rich and so what??? ...come on...WE R REALLY TIRED OF PEOPLE SUCH AS HIM AND ALIKES...Give us more valuable important news, that's it...we r tired reading nonsens news, they are just nothing that's all...Thank u very much/George
In my humble understndin' this' deplorable and lamentable. The dead stay dumb and for that matter they deserve genuine respect. Mr. Woods should be doin' nothin' but payin' homage to his father. In a nutshell, this' illogical. Get me right world
We all have skeletons in our cupboards,why is he being castigated,is it because he is a star,he agreed he has erred.The press and every other person should pls leave him alone to play his game
Never use a big word when a more familiar one will do, dude.
He has also had enough of our admiration...
The man's still gonna help sell a bazillion golf balls, clubs, and logo shirts. In two years no ones even remember Tigers endorsement banishment, and most of the other former endorsers will be climbing back on board the Tiger wagon.
I have even less respect for Mr. Woods although it's not that I had much to begin with. He should have been a man and told everyone to screw off. But instead he went on a sniveling campaign as though he owed anyone an apology. I couldn't care less about with whom he sleeps or his domestic state of affairs.
Regarding Nike, I haven't own a single piece of Nike product in over 15 yrs. and never will. Nor do I allow my 14 yr. old son to bring it in the house.
Why does anyone think he owes the public an apology? If people chose to make him some type of role model in their lives that was their personal choice. How is that his fault? Those people need to apologize to themselves for being so gullible.
Get Real Tiger
This guy just dosnt go away, Im so sick of celebrities and their so called "woes". Too many celebrities make rediculous amounts of money, unproportional to national income, and half of them for doing nothing valuable to society at all. Tiger can go cry into his wads of $500 dollar bills for all I care.
A Tiger cannot change his stripes.
Whats done is done. Time to let Tiger do what he does best, golf. All the finger pointing & holier than thou comments show us just how many hypocrites walk among us.
Enough is Enough!!!! I don't get the point of this ad with his deceased fathers voice. Tiger has made his apologies and now needs to drop it and get on with his life. Half of the people commenting on Tigers behavior are probably doing the same thing he did, they just haven't been caught -- yet!
I wasn't looking to Woods for guidance on anything really, so he didn't let me down. If he needs to go and do his thing, I can understand him being embarrassed by the stories of it. Frankly, he can do whatever suits him and I'll watch golf.
I think watching folks go nuts about it was funny, but it's now grown dull.
Any press is good press. This is just free air time for Nike. I doubt that anyone who actively buys Nike products will suddenly stop because of this ad. It is just generating more discussion of the brand, which is exactly what they want.
disgusting!
I Think Tiger Woods is not perfect humanbeing,I think every one should let him be,Let his wife be the judge.He is not my role model,You make your own bed and sleep on it the it is made.there is alot of Problems out there that needs solving.we should be thinkig about that.
Poor taste.
Let me be the first Canadian to congratulate you Americans for winning the 2010 Gold Medal in "Celebrity Bashing". We Canadians have always prided ourselves in eating our own (celebrities).
Congratulations.
I believe Tiger is human! and we are all prone to different mistakes, he has made his and its his personal business. He's a fantastic golfer thats it!!! his problems are not ours. He should be left alone and be appreciated for what he is good at and thats one thing GOLF! if alot of us were celebrities i bet most of us would have one or two scandals that could be blown out of proportion. He has made a big mistake and he is sober so let it go people!!
As for Nike im glad they are still supporting him and im indifferent about the ad!
Awful.
creepy, he should be ashamed to let his fathers voice be used for an ad like this
Tiger you are the best,I will always admire you,you have done so much for golf and I do not believe any one will do the same,I will be watching the Masters,good luck and again you are the best.
I'd much rather hear the opinions of his wife...She is the vicim here...If she will forgive Tiger it should be the majority opinion of the fans
I really don't like it! Whats the point? Do you think we are stupid?
exploiting the dead...very bizarre. anything for money.
Nike.....stoops to yet another low.....and Tiger jumps right in with them...
a new low in bad taste and a telling comment on the state of the sports world. " Were only in it for the money folks"
I dont find it that offensive to be honest..... Reality is: Nike needs to make $ and Tiger needs to be back to his basics – which is golf.
But then, how can you really sell Golf when the biggest image of golf have been exploited by the media over couple of "infidelity" – I mean WHO CARES? Billions of people cheat but they are not bad people, what he did was bad to his family not to us. What do you really think I was looking at Tiger's PGA tournaments because I thought he was an example for me and my family?
Therefore, they cannot sell Tiger with crazy ads like they use to, so they took the sensitive side of him which was (cheating or not) his father. You have to look at it this way........no matter who bad of a "husband/father" he is, he was always daddy's boy – so going back to that and reminding people of WHAT really made Tiger – "The Tiger" is a way to clean his image from all this negative media on him that nobody cares anyway......
Nike has choose a bad way to promote their products
tehy are mixing to many sensitivity issues at once and the result will be a negative one...
Ads are to be memeorable not to be a feeling mix....disgusting as Ruth wrote..
What Tiger has done is deplorable indeed. With that said, I am not the judge of him. The pain he has caused his wife will never go away. No matter how hard she tries, she will never be able to totally forgive him. As for Nike, are you really surprised?
I think his personal life is a mess, but he knows how to hit a ball with a golf club!! Leave this guy alone, he's a human being and he makes mistakes like the rest of us, the difference is, he's a public figure. Nike is just a big company and protects its interests, that's it.
The only person he has to apologize to is his wife.
Since it is probably a reaction to the many years of strict parental control that spurred a lot of the excesses, I find the ad untimely, in poor taste and a disservice to all involved–including Tiger Woods.
On the other hand, the stood by him–at least up til now. Cut the guy some slack. How many of us given his wealth, good looks and fame would not have done what he did and more??? I certainly will not cast the first stone?? You?
I cannot believe that we have so many haters in this world....Its HIS fathers voice and not yours so deal with it people. Nike stood by him and i applaud them for that, they say when tyms are hard friends are few and Nike was a friend okay business wise.
Tiger is becoming more & more w/o Class and all about money.
What a wonderful teaching example to my nieces and nephews of the difference b/n having money and class. Like my grandmother always said. . . "one can't buy genuine class like a bottle of perfume from Lord & Taylor. It has to be real and down deep." Also, . . "Character is what you are in the dark. Your reputation is when what you do in the dark comes to light."
Tiger is simply a cheat and a liar. Big Money apparachniks are the spin on it all.
This is the most disgusting ad I have ever seen. All of the sympathy that I had built up for Tiger Woods over the last couple of months disappeared INSTANTLY when I saw this ad. To agree to use his dead father's voice in this context is simply unbelieveable and incredibly disgusting.
our family thinks this ad is outstanding.
I use to think that Tiger was a saint but he just prove to me that he is human & that is why he did what he did. Some of us has done worst thinks, why acting like the saints we 're not? Thanks Nike for standing by your man. Tiger you 're my HERO!
He's a celebrity that apparently has no limits when it comes to self-promotion and justification. I guess now we know the reasons he was always so rabidly close-mouthed and "famously private" about his personal life. I always sort of admired him for that, at least, that he'd try to protect his family from media scrutiny...now this. I feel so sorry for his wife and kids. I just was thinking how I would have felt if my dad had behaved this way; I'd have been really ashamed.
leave him alone enough is enough
Great Ad !!!
Genious. Look at the blogs People are talking about Nike. That is the corporate bottom line. One blogger stated they would never buy the nike product. If that person ever bought Nike they will do so again.
IT LOOKS AND SOUNDS SO STUPID,TIGER WOODS MUST BE LAUGHING HIS BUTT OFF ON THE WAY OVER TO THE BANK.
to err is human. to forgive is devine. who are we to be the judge of others short comings. this is between him his family and the real judge. Nike should stop exploiting the situation for monetary gain. its shameful and unjust.
Kodos to Nike for standing by their man. I may not give up my TaylorMade clubs but I like Nike's balls.
what's all the fuss about that guy? your viewers are certainly more interested in more important matters that are happening around the globe.
Dear, dear....this ad is the last straw. I can't take it anymore, I'm checking into "rehab" (a.k.a. Public Relations/Damage Control).
I'm not a golf fan, not a Nike fan, but a fan however of our capacity as human beings to continually move through life making mistakes, hopefully realizing them, correcting our actions, and MOST important, sharing our guilt and shame in a way that will hopefully help someone else learn from our mistakes. The Nike commercial is excellent, at the same time harsh. Excellent as it shows Tiger reaching into his own soul, seeking the wisdom of his father, finding knowledge and comfort from his Dad's resurrected words. Words that scold, words that go deeper into the "why" of Tiger's actions, and then the wisdom of his Dad "listening" to Tiger's account of his transgressions. Yes, his Dad's words were taken and reconstructed for this advertisement. I do not believe they were reconstructed to show Tiger in a more beneficial light, but to lay out the healing and reconstructive process that we need to move through when we have let ourself, family, and fans down. A simple sorry, does not make a repentive heart. Continual work, admitting the transgressions, seeking therapy, leaning inward on those around us or above us for their wisdom and finally teaching others through our mistakes. Nike provided Tiger an avenue of global repentence, and at the same time showed how important it is to involve your family, dead or alive, in the process. There have been too many sorry's lately, with little true exposure into the heart of the person giving it. I had no real opinion nor was I a fan of Tiger's before this ad. I still do not care for golf, but I now admire Tiger, and Nike, for putting themselves on the line and for telling the world through this exposure that good people can do bad things, but bad things cannot be forgiven or corrected without exposing your soul, and all the things in the world that are most dear to you. Tiger loved his father, loves his fans, and choosing to expose himself on a global scale with the aid of his father's words only honors his father, and further humbles Tiger.
What some won't do for money...
Absolutely unbelievable. How low can the marketers sink? It confirms all we know about Tiger, but who is looking after Woods Senior's good name? He would have shot down this insane exploitation.
He cheated so what. That is his personal life. Let his family take him accountable for that. There are far more serious things going on in this world and we shouldn't keep loosing time with this stupidity.
Terrible – done in bad taste...he's apologized enough...don't care to hear any more about this.
Enough is enough. Pleased stop reporting on this cad. He is a looser no matter how much you try to correct his past behavior.
very strange commercial, too much emphasis made on this guy. he is just a golfer, nothing of importance.
LEAVE TIGER ALONE IT SEEMS PEOPLE ARE JELOUS HE HAS DONE WRONG TO THE PUBLIC
AND THE WOMEN ARE NOT COMPLAINING, HE IS YOUNG AND HE HAS MONEY
EVERY BODY DOES IT EXCEPT TIGER HE IS IN LIME LIGHT
TIGER COME ON GO AND WIN THE MASTERS , EITHER YOU LIKE HIM OR NOT HIS TIGER
LONG LEAVE TIGER
it's his dad, he's fine with it so get over it! There are children dying in all sorts of situations on a daily basis around the world and people seem to continue on with life as if it's no big deal but somehow you are passionate and angry about some dude who plays golf and making his money. How's yr record as a human being looking like so far? Go tiger! thank you for making this boring game so exciting
How can you even contemplate quoting your own dad who has passed away on such an issue? This is an emotional attempt to buy our pity and of course it just won't work. Shame on Tiger for allowing this to happen and shame on Nike who will do just about anything for a buck!! I will never get caught wearing anything from Nike!!!
Let the dead rest in peace. Nike has no limitations.
We are an Adidas family now, and happy as heck!
It seems that Tiger's father never learned his lesson and lost his wife own wife in the process. We will see if Tiger pays the same price as his father did .
I think it is time to move on. The ad is in poor taste. Tiger did what he did. As a result he has been hurt financially. He has been humiliated in public. He has also lost his family over it. What else does he need to do? ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!
Exploiting a dead person for a quick buck is just like grave robbing, creepy and disgusting.
make it stop!! Tiger needs to just shut up and play golf and Nike needs to cut it out. What's next?! I'm not sure who manages Tiger's career but this was beyond pathetic and lame.
Who cares.
The ad has no impact on my life.
Tiger is an excellent golfer who makes a ton of money.
Why begrudge him that?
If you had the opportunity to make the amount of money he makes by doing something that is not illegal would you turn it down?
He owes one person an apology... his wife.
Why does he have to apologize to anyone else?
I'm disappointed that he cheated on his wife.
He paid his dues
He prepared himself for his career by being focused and honing his skills..
.
Come Guys, He who is free of any fault or sin....go on and condemn Tiger. Yes, he screwed up but who of you has never screwed up. You even had a president who screwed up remember. Didn't we forgive him, didn't he repent.
You should remember that Tiger represents one of the extraordinary gifts God gives the world to remind us of his glorify unfortunately like many of us Tiger forgot his blessings and the responsibility that he has to generations whether or not they are his fans.
I think the advert is wonderful for one it will always remind Tiger of his mentor and the lesson he will teach to his kids and perhaps other young sports people. For those of you who are quick to criticize. Do you know the strength of a Father's love. Do you have kids? o.k you are so brilliant and know it All. What kind advert would you recommend or would you have come up with if you were in his position?
Who am I to judge Tiger of his sins? Surely, I am worst a sinner than Tiger.
I think Nike is a good friend to Tiger.
Everyone needs someone to stand by him or her in times of trouble and I thought Nike is doing a good job in standing by Tiger woods in this turbulent time in Tiger wood's life.
I didn't like it – we all know what he is – let's move on
I have no respect for him for what he did to his wife & children! Don't care whatever counseling he got.
Adidas is superior to Nike in every way!
Tiger is a historic role model for golf. He never promised to be more to the world. Dont hold him to account for what he never pledged. I will only feel betrayed if his come back is a flop.
I disagree, Mr Kirby... had it been any other 'voice over'... 'then' it would have been disgusting. Imagine, for one minute... if Mr. Woods 'senior' was still here...He would have asked Tiger the same questions WITHIN the context of the subject matter. I believe that was considered before running the ad, and.. in my humble opinion... that's the only reason Tiger would have agreed to it. It's probably the closest scenario to reallity that was possible. Had it been anyone else giving him a slap... it would have been pointless.
Tiger's the best golfer in the world. Period. What he did wasn't right, however... there has to be a line drawn in the sand that separates public figure from private citizen. I don't agree that they sign up to live in a fishbowl.... we all deserve some degree of privacy. Let it die!
I think the use of Tiger's father in any way in order to promote commercial goods is outrageous! I am not sure what the ad people were thinking – it is one thing for Tiger to meditate and have a sub-conscious "talk" with his deceased dad in some fashion, but it is truly another and quite less reputable to portray such an incident in order to promote Nike!!
this add is poopoo
disgusting ad...terrible...terrible..terrible...goes beyond poor taste..
Tiger has a right to live his life, I don't agree with what he did , but the only one that is sinless is Jesus.
The ad is very creepy and weird. We don't know what his father would have said.
Anyway, regardless of what Tiger has done, he is the best when it comes to Golf.
Nike just lost my family as customers.
HONESTLY – when will this end????
Tiger didn't murder anyone!!
He did cheat on his wife ... and in the world of the professional tour, thats NOT a new event! Get over it people! This story is SO OLD!!
Nothing!!!
what a loser. this is sick foreal
Tiger has hit an alltime low in exploitation.
I applaud Nike for standing by Tiger and I don't see anything wrong about this ad. I think of it as a mere retrospection.
Tiger is not a Saint, he is just another homo sapien who is prone to make mistakes and he did. I admire his candor for owning his mistakes and I believe he learned a lesson in a hard way. How about let him be and let him do what he do best – GOLF!
This is a new low in advertising, even for Nike, a brand I once had respect for.
Using Tiger's deceased father in the role of a good example is totally unbelieveable. This was a man who cheated on his own wife and therefore set Tiger up for the man he became. The media need to move on to someone who really can set a good example. Let's face it, Tiger's mother is at his side because she lives the good life and could anyone blame Elin if she chooses not to give up her celebrity life. As long as these people have someone to fawn over them and fall at their feets, they will continue to feel that "they are entitled".
While not a golf fan as it's a bit of a boring sport, I used to enjoy noting Tiger's success thinking how any man can achieve great things. Now all I see is a sleaze bag.
Its sick. Marketing at its lowest!
Perfect psychotherapy! This strengthen and stabilizes the Golfer. Go
Tiger, play & win!
Please stop this Tiger analysis, NO ONE cares, he plays golf, he is a lying playboy, he exhumes his father's dead voice to vindicate his "rehabilitation". How important is that in the entire scheme of things? Its not.
All dis about wood is well planned to distract him by his enemies.pls let him live
I'd really like to know who, besides his wife and children did Tiger hurt by cheating? Leave that man alone. His job is to play golf and he does that job much better than anyone on this site.
Bizarre....weird...totally inappropriate....what was Nike thinking? Shows how Woods would do ANYTHING – using his dead father's voice-over?! – to rebuild his image. That smacks of inauthentic and still carefuuly orchestrating what her presents to the outside world.
Word of advice...try being genuine.
Tiger Woods is a disgrace to golf and to mankind. His attitude on Sunday and arrogance at the post round interview firmly confirmed the type of being he is. Who the hell does he think he is.
Giving a "who cares" wave to his birdie putt on 18 was the capper. And his "I only enter tournaments that I can win"...and poor boy he for only finishing 4th in the masters...a dream for even the best golfers in the world.
My final comment is that the hug that Phil gave his wife....well Tiger here is how it is. No matter how many golf tournaments you win, how much money you have (or had) you will NEVER be able to hug your wife that same way. That to me is the saddest part of all you have got yourself into. What little respect I had left for you after you chose those women over your kids and wive totally was lost by your complete lack of any humbleness on Sunday. All it would have taken was a little bit of modesty and humility. Good luck with your life from here on it because it will never ever be the same as it was..
NIKE....you need to cut the cord!