Tiger Woods’ first Nike ad since returning from his public humiliation over various affairs certainly generated buzz, but not necessarily positive reactions. HCD Research said that favorability of the Nike brand fell from 92 percent to 79 percent as a result of the ad.
Additionally, some 29 percent of viewers said they were less likely to purchase Tiger Woods-related products after seeing the ad, compared to six percent who said they were more likely. The top emotions the ad conveyed were confusion and skepticism followed by sadness and disturbing.
Some ad executive at Nike no doubt thought they were being really clever with the ad (which features a voice over from Tiger’s deceased father Earl) but it doesn’t look like it hit the right notes. It’ll be a touchy issue to feature Tiger in ads while memories of his unfaithfulness are still fresh.
Source: MediaPost {link no longer active}
