What does Tiger Woods have in common with Toyota?
It's a question that come up in Tiger Woods apology statement. For those who haven't seen it, you can check it here:
Los Angeles Times columnist Tim Rutten compares the "apology" to Toyota's handling of its recall problems.
"Start with the fact that Woods is an athlete who performs like a machine; Toyotas are automobiles that – until recently, at least – performed the way machines are supposed to but almost never do. More important, the golfer and the carmaker are both beneficiaries of the way popular culture seems to be blending two powerful social forces – the culture of celebrity and brand loyalty – into a single new commercial imperative,'' Rutten writes. "Woods' relatively brief appearance Friday had more the aura of a corporate announcement – subdued backdrop, handpicked audience, no questions – than it did an athlete's news conference. Because neither the celebrity nor corporate culture fears contradiction, the golfer simultaneously apologized to the world for behavior that occurred in the most private part of a person's life, then castigated the media for invading his family's privacy … There are some old-fashioned questions that could be asked, of course: Who cares what Tiger Woods did in bed or with whom? Isn't that an issue for him and his wife to sort out? Why not either watch the guy play golf or forget him? There's the rub, and his dilemma: Neither the PGA nor his sponsors can afford to let you forget Tiger Woods the brand any more than Akio Toyoda can afford to let you forget the Prius."
It's a comparison also made by Fortune's Alex Taylor III. While he was writing it a week before the apology, he makes the excellent point that the rehabilitation of Tiger and Toyota can only happen when there is a credible apology that really does make amends. So far, we haven't seen it from Toyota. As for the Woods apology, it's being dismissed as a stage-managed performance.
Eva Rodriguez in the Washington Post says the "apology" was all about rebuilding a brand, no more. "He did not owe us – you and me – an apology. That he delivered one just shows how meaningless it really was. You don't need an internationally televised apology to become a better man, a better husband, a better father – the things he claims are most important to him. But you do need such a spectacle if you're going to remain a multi-billion-dollar marketing machine. And that's what this pathetic display was all about.
And for his part, Donald Trump reckons Tiger Woods should just end his marriage, become a playboy and go back on to the golf course and win.
No doubt the Trumpster would tell Toyota to just keep going and produce good cheap cars. If only life were that simple.
no comment untill now