Obsessedsportsnut's Blog

Nike just released their new ad for Tiger Woods today.

Earl Woods: “I am more prone to being inquisitive, to promote discussion. I want to find out what your thinking was. I want to find out what your feelings are. And did you learn anything.”

I find it a very, very fascinating commercial. When I showed this to some people today, I was met with confusion. Why was Earl’s voice in it? What was the point of this? What are they trying to sell? Why did Nike do this?

Pre last Thanksgiving, Tiger Woods was the world’s most marketable athlete. He had signed record breaking endorsement deals with Nike, General Motors, Accenture, and Gatorade. During the fallout of his marriage infidelity fiasco, every single one of his major sponsors dropped him…except for Nike. Nike was the only major sponsor to stand by his side throughout the past couple months. They were the only ones to not give up on Tiger, and were willing to support him and help him through this time.

This commercial is Nike’s first official “statement” in their support of Tiger Woods. The questions Earl Woods asked are the same questions that Nike and the rest of the world are asking him. “What are you thinking? What are you feeling? What did you learn?” Basically, Nike (through Earl) is saying to Tiger, “How have you changed through this? How are you different?”

Nike’s not trying to sell anything in this ad. It’s their first public statement to Tiger, “We stood by you. Dont let us down.”

Brilliant marketing strategy by Nike.