Last week I did a blog entry raising the question of how long the sponsors of Tiger Woods would stand by the flawed icon. At the time, I said the companies would come under enormous pressure from their shareholders to dump him.
And now, it started happening. Gillette has announced it is limiting Tiger Woods’ role in its marketing campaigns. That’s an $11 million a year contract being scaled back.
And now consulting firm Accenture has put out a statement saying it’s dropped Tiger Woods. “For the past six years, Accenture and Tiger Woods have had a very successful sponsorship arrangement and his achievements on the golf course have been a powerful metaphor for business success in Accenture’s advertising. However, given the circumstances of the last two weeks, after careful consideration and analysis, the company has determined that he is no longer the right representative for its advertising.”
According to this report, AT&T reckons it’s still “evaluating” the relationship and Woods’ main sponsor, Nike, has offered the golfer its “full support”
That’s this week. By the end of the month, or early next year, it could be a different story. Woods is damaged goods and no sponsor would want to be associated with that.
no comment untill now