Proctor & Gamble is the latest major corporation to cut ties with embattled golf superstar Tiger Woods. Gillette announced that it’s phasing out the “Gillette Champions” marketing campaign that had run for the past three years.
Gillette featured Woods, tennis record-breaker Roger Federer, soccer players Lionel Messi, Thierry Henry, and Kaka and dozens of other professional athletes in the popular set of commercials. P&G also won’t renew contracts with the other athletes.
Gillette, however, was keeping some of the athletes for new local marketing campaigns.
At one time, Woods was the most successful marketing pitchman, becoming the first person to accrue $1 billion from endorsement agreements; however, many corporations cut ties or distanced themselves from Woods after the scandal highlighting his extramarital affairs broke just over a year ago and dominated headlines for months: including Accenture LLP, AT&T Inc. and Gatorade.
Companies such as Gillette and Tag Heuer didn’t end their relationships with Woods outright, but stopped featuring him in advertisements. Nike Inc. and Electronic Arts, who had more invested in his skills as an elite athlete as apposed to a symbol of morality and family values, stuck with him.
Endorsement desirability isn’t the only area Woods is trying rectify. This was his first year as a pro golfer without a tournament victory and he lost #1 ranking for only the second time in 14 years when he turned pro. If Woods regains his pre-scandal golfing tenacity and winning percentage, expect many of the disillusioned corporations to reconsider their withdrawals from him. —terry shropshire
