Tiger Woods, hampered in recent years by injuries and scandal, returned to the Masters for the first time in three years Thursday, offering a glimmer of hope to the struggling golf industry that he once powered to new heights.
Long-time endorser Nike sought to build hype with a new ad released Thursday morning (5 April) as The 2018 Masters got under way called ‘Welcome Back’.
The 60-second spot, which was created by long-time agency Wieden & Kennedy, takes a tour through Woods’ glory days (from his early TV appearance as a kid to his legendary shot-making in his prime) and is summed up by the copy line ‘When Tiger plays golf, the world watches. Welcome Back.”
The video was amplified across the usual Nike digital and socials channels.
When @TigerWoods plays golf, the world watches. Welcome Back. pic.twitter.com/N12YmLfGCY
— Nike (@Nike) April 5, 2018
“It is remarkable to see him make it through such a tough period of injury,” Martin Buckley, global VP and GM of Nike Gol.
“Tiger being back in contention has brought incredible energy to the sport, the fans and to the brand. The passion and excitement he brings to the game are unparalleled.”
The Tiger Woods specific spot was preceded by a more general Nike Golf campaign – also featuring Woods alongside other Nike golf endorsers – called #ChaseYours.
Comment:
What remains remarkable is Woods’ advertising appeal.
With 5.7m Facebook views and 4.5m YouTube views during the four days of The Masters tournament, it seems there is plenty of consumer advertising and commercial appetite around still for Tiger Woods.
The hype wasn’t quite justified as Woods finished tied for 32 place on +1. Which nevertheless, marks a major improvement on his inability to compete in the year’s opening Major in the last few years.
Not surprising that Nike activated around Woods so heavily even when another, albeit vastly less popular Nike golf athlete actually won the tournament.
Confidence from start to finish. @PReedGolf wins first major championship at The Masters. #justdoit pic.twitter.com/Ejx2oKcGcy
— Nike (@Nike) April 9, 2018
It seems Nike may just reap some rewards from the loyalty the brand showed by sticking by Woods through his 2009 sex scandal and subsequent social, alcohol and drug-related and sporting battles continuing to activate around him with campaigns like this 2018 work, its 2013 ‘Re-Emergence’ initiative (see case study) and even the famous 2010 ‘Tiger & Earl’ controversial mea culpa morality campaign (see case study).
Unlike several other Woods endorsers – such as including Gatorade, AT&T and Accenture – who backed away from the star during his troubled period (see case study).
According to Forbes figures, Woods still earned $37m in endorsement income last year (down from the $100m he took in during his peak playing and earning days).
The player’s star power showed up just last month when NBC generated strong ratings for the fairly low-profile Valspar Championship which saw Woods return to form and finish second.
We’d also mentioned that as recently as late November 2017 tyre giant Bridgestone took a similar creative and messaging approach to activating around its Woods ambassador association with a uncannily similar titled campaign called, err, well, ‘Welcome Back Tiger’.
Links:
Nike
https://www.youtube.com/user/nike
https://www.instagram.com/nike/
Wieden & Kennedy
