The ad is a response to Wood reclaiming his position as World #1 in the golf world rankings following his success at the Arnold Palmer International on Monday. After Nike shared the image on social media sites, it was met with a divided response. While many were quick to show their support for Woods’ continued sporting success, others were frustrated by the connotations of the emphasised quotation in light of earlier revelations concerning Woods' personal life.
Nike has had a multi-million commercial relationship with Tiger Woods since Woods went professional in the mid 1990s. The company stuck with Woods through the affair scandal that saw the golfer lose millions of dollars in other endorsement deals. This most recent victory will likely see Nike heavily feature Woods in forthcoming advertising and marketing campaigns.
The ‘winning’ advertisement - a 'controversy' that others have argued has been blown out of proportion - has received particular attention as a result of other recent high-profile Nike endorsement controversies. Only last month the sporting giant chose to at least temporarily suspend advertisements and their endorsements with South African athlete Oscar Pistorius after he was charged with the murder of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp. Nike had previously run a Pistorius advertisement with the statement “I am the bullet in the chamber.”
History of controversy
Nike is also no stranger to controversial advertising campaigns. In 2006, a poster of Wayne Rooney with body paint of St George’s Cross attracted criticism from politicians, Christian groups and other commentators. Rooney’s endorsement deal again caused problems in 2012, when Rooney sent a Nike-sponsored tweet from his personal twitter account. Rooney was reprimanded by the Advertising Standards Agency in England.
A purportedly ‘banned’ television ad saw a scantily-clad Olympian outrunning a pursuer based on a number of horror film characters. There was also a divisive response when Nike released an advertisement with a visibly exhausted obese child jogging down an empty road. Other campaigns have caused outrage from religious groups, gay rights activists and a variety of other organisations.
One advertisement from 2004 featuring a dragon and kung-fu master defeated by basketball star LeBron James was banned by Chinese authorities, who dubbed the offending campaign ‘blasphemous’.
