The Twitteratti has weighed in... with "creepy", "ultra-creepy", "shameless", shameful"... and quite a few less printable adjectives. Many golf bloggers are echoing these sentiments. ~
Personally however, I think the ad is awesome. That's not to say it isn't creepy... but who says awesome and creepy have to be mutually exclusive.
Because we now know quite a bit about Earl and Tiger Woods, their weaknesses and excesses as well as their strengths and talents, I think the 30 second spot can be seen as much more than an ad.
In the short clip I see a multi-generational narrative on the American dream ...about the heights that can be reached through single-minded determination and the fall that can be precipitated by human frailty. Ultimately, I see belief in the possibility of redemption. Call me naive but I'm a huge believer in redemption.
I know, I know... most others in the media see it as a crass, creepy Nike commercial... and in today's environment where cynicism sells and everyone's afraid of be taken for a fool... I should probably go along with that platform and find my own clever way to criticize the flawed golf icon and the over-dubbed voice of his deceased Dad. The thing is though, I rarely do what I "should" do.
...and I think the ad is awesome.
maybe we are all trying to read too much into an ad whose purpose is to sell product..TW Nike Product. That is after all his job as a Nike spokesperson. Just as it is his job to go out and play golf for a living...not be our moral guide.
ReplyDeletethis message..at least for me goes against the work Tiger has done this week to repair his image.
ReplyDeleteTiger is not a moral guide...but..when you use your image to sell product...your image and actions matter.
I will cheer for Tiger the golfer...but at the moment..go Tom Watson!
tiger needs to step back into the real world, play golf, stop spitting, be nice, have a beer, and go home to the missus.
ReplyDeleteI wish he'd have played the par-3 contest.
ReplyDeleteAs for the ad, I haven't exactly decided what I think. I definitely wasn't as upset as everyone was on Twitter. I think you make a good point that just because it's creepy doesn't mean it's a bad ad.
Well Patricia, I know this day would come... we don't agree on this one. I find Nike's marketing position here offensive and i find it very strange given Earl's history...
ReplyDeleteEarl-y to dead
ReplyDeleteEarl-y to rise
Makes an ad creepy, eerie, unwise.
Yeah, agreed it's weird because of Earl's history. Plus it was just unnecessary I think. His press conference (Masters, not the previous debacle) was all we needed to finally see his real thoughts on the matter.
ReplyDeleteSo Nike had to chime in and say "we're behind Tiger", but using Earl's voice???
Please Tiger, fire your PR people, stop listening to them and just be yourself.
Don't even get me started. What does Nike gain from this? I don't get it. He's talking about Tiger as a 5 year old in the original clip. Tiger learned this disgusting and deplorable behavior from Earl! Earl the trainer and Earl the role model are two very different people. This ad gives me the heebie-jeebies like none other.
ReplyDeleteAs a general rule, Americans don't see advertising in an artful way. To Americans ads are annoying commercial interruptions that break up programming every ten to fifteen minutes, Whereas in Europe, and elsewhere, ads come much less frequently, grouped together, and are often highly creative and thought provoking.
ReplyDeleteWhat I'm seeing here, and what I've read in the US press reaction, is the inability to see beyond the commercial connection to any kind of story, and that's understandable due to the way advertising is presented here. Also, many Americans seem to be excessively "creeped out" by anything that involves death. I attribute that to the steady diet of gruesome horror and gratuitous violence they are fed as they grow up with American television and cinema.
The fact that you see it the way you do would indicate to me that you're not a typical American.
Jean: I'm American and I didn't find the ad creepy. I found it touching because no matter how flawed the two men are/were, the thing that was clear was that they had an extraordinary relationship and that they loved each other profoundly. That's what came through to me. But I think you're right that in the US the culture of television advertising is such that people are not likely to look at ad as anything more than a way to sell products.
ReplyDeleteI haven't seen the ad.
ReplyDeleteI'm employed in a tiny, unimportant job in the television advertising industry. I can say with certainty that ALL television advertising in the US is creepy. Singling out any one ad as being more creepy than a penis pill commercial seems like an over-reaction.
I see your point Diane. At least Tiger and Earl weren't in matching bathtubs. ;-)
ReplyDeleteBTW whether one likes that ad or hates it (I happen to like it) I don't think there's any denying the buzz, right? For what that's worth.
I'll sit here drumming my fingers, waiting for everyone to get off the Jerry-Springer-watching seat and stop judging someone as if they have never EVER had a human failure.
ReplyDelete