Nike Ad Featuring Tiger Woods - Strange or Spectacular?

A new Nike ad featuring an expressionless Tiger Woods shot in black and white with a voice over featuring his deceased father questioning him comes across as either being in very poor taste, or a brilliant move by Nike. The 30 second ad shows a very somber-looking Woods staring directly into the camera as his father's voice is heard saying, "Tiger? I am more prone to be 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?" As the late Earl Wood's voice fades and Tiger is still staring blankly into the camera, it appears as if some camera flashes go off, the screen fades to black and the Nike logo appears.

I haven't encountered anyone that really likes the new Nike ad, although I have heard some people say that they would like to hear the answers to those yet to be answered questions. Obviously there has been a lot of talk and speculation on television, the Internet, and print media regarding the scandal that broke after Woods ran over a fire hydrant and smashed into a tree outside his home in Florida. Other than a few brief interviews that focus predominantly on his golfing career, Tiger Woods has been relatively low key and quiet. I don't think that this should surprise anyone since Tiger was always a fiercely private individual prior to the scandal making headlines. Of course, if you are a married father of two viewed as a role model by millions, it's probably not a good idea to get caught up in a scandal like the one that Woods is facing down.

There is no doubt that more people will be watching The Masters with Tiger Woods playing than without. In spite of people's disappointment, Tiger Woods is a revenue-generating machine. There are always more viewers watching when Tiger plays, no matter where he's playing. Nike is undoubtedly acknowledging that their tarnished golden boy screwed up. Perhaps this is Nike's way of showing the masses that they take what happened with Tiger Woods very seriously and they wanted an ad where Tiger appears to be taking it seriously as well. Nike knows that Tiger Woods will still generate revenue for them and this is why they continue to stand behind him.

Each time an athlete or other famous role model is caught up in a scandal like the one enveloping Tiger Woods right now, I wonder if people forget that in the end we are still dealing with a human being. Human beings, role models or not, will always make mistakes and do things to disappoint loved ones. Perhaps not to the extreme that Tiger Woods has, but everyone makes mistakes and has a private life. Does the public deserve to know every detail that goes on in famous athlete's lives? I've had a lot of role models over the years and some of them were athletes. I personally wanted to see what they could do on the track, field, or court and wasn't concerned with what goes on in their bedrooms. Some people want to hold athletes and celebrities to a higher standard and feel that they should be punished when they let their adoring masses down.

It will be interesting to see if Nike sticks with the Tiger Woods ad in spite of the obvious discomfort and confusion that it seems to be generating amongst the general public. The Nike ad is dramatic and it catches people off guard. Is it going to generate sales for Nike or just the opposite?

Sources:
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Nike