April 8, 2010

Nike’s New Ad: Out of Line or Genius?

Despite Tiger Woods’ return to the Masters, it looks like the controversy surrounding his extra-marital affairs is not completely over.

A new Nike ad is generating buzz because of its use of the voice of Tiger Woods’ late father. In the ad, Earl Woods asks,

“I want to find out what your thinking was. I want to find out what your feelings are. Did you learn anything?”

Read on to watch the video..

What makes the ad even more powerful is its use of black and white imagery. Tiger’s facial expression — which can be described as remorseful and vulnerable –makes this Nike ad a compelling one.

Some people might cry foul over the use of Earl Woods’ voice, but we have to remember that the ad has (presumably) Tiger’s approval.

Is the ad successful? I would argue yes. I think that the Nike brand name is now effectively linked to Tiger Woods. (In a recent workshop I attended, participants automatically associated Nike’s famous logo to Tiger.) And as Tiger tries to make a comeback, people need to know that he is remorseful about his “transgressions”. Nike, being one of the few brands that did stick with Tiger throughout his big scandal, has chosen to reach out to consumers by showing that Tiger is sorry for what he’s done. The ad does a good job of regaining some of the brand equity that Nike may have lost throughout the Tiger Woods scandal.

Personally,watching the ad is a difficult for me, probably because I’ve lost my father many years ago. But make no doubt about it – people will watch this ad. The YouTube clip already has over 600,000 views as of this morning. At the end of the day, regardless of what we all think of this, the ad accomplishes exactly what it was meant to do: exposure of the Nike brand to as many people as possible.