Nike Commercial Features Earl Woods

by Spencer Loomis

While preparing my article on Tiger Woods’ return to golf at this weekend’s Masters, a mutual friend put me in touch with a Nike employee who is currently present at Augusta National for the tournament.   The rep was tight lipped and reserved in providing me even with comments about the general culture of Augusta, even though I wasn’t asking for comments on Tiger specifically.   The reason was of course that Nike is extremely conscious and sensitive to the handling of the face of their golf brand.

That familiar face returned to the commercial world today with Nike’s ad intended to address his marital indiscretions and move forward.   The spot features the voice of Tiger’s deceased father, Earl Woods, asking him questions about what he is feeling and what he has learned.   Earl Woods’ questions are made to seem as though he is asking his son specifically about what he has learned from his time away from golf, although the old audio clip was not recorded with that intention.   This transposition of his Earl Woods’ line of questioning is accompanied by a blank-faced Tiger staring deep into the camera.

Earl Woods asks “What are you feeling?”, and Tiger’s face seems to suggest that he feels nothing. No remorse, no guilt, no anger.   Earl continues, “What have you learned?” which is a question that will be answered by Tiger’s future actions and how he treats his family.

I have problems with this commercial.   Everyone I have spoken with finds the ad awkward and confusing.   It feels wrong to use a deceased individual’s audio clip from a different subject to address Tiger’s affairs.   Furthermore, Woods doesn’t sell himself in any way in the commercial by not answering these questions.

If the purpose of this advertisement was to sell products then I declare the ad a failure.   My only inkling is that this ad is a setup for an ongoing series of ads to repair Tiger’s image and thereby repair his brand for Nike.

For years the main complaint from the media has been that Tiger is too reserved, some have even called interviewing Woods a waste of time.   This ad only furthers that image of a tight-lipped reserved individual.   If Tiger wants to successfully repair his image, he will need to let down his guard and show the public what is going on behind that blank stare.