Tiger Woods & Accenture – A Celebrity Endorsement Gone Bad
filed in Brand, Case Study on Dec.09, 2009
For me, the most compelling question to arise from the tawdry Tiger Woods scandal isn’t whether his wife will leave him, but whether his corporate sponsors will. In particular, the management consulting company Accenture.
We’re not talking energy drinks or golf shoes here, Accenture is a starched white collar Fortune Global 500 firm that, excuse the analogy, is figuratively in bed with Tiger.
In the words of Accenture’s own Web site: “Since 2003, Tiger Woods has been the centerpiece of Accenture advertising and representative of its brand image. As perhaps the world’s ultimate symbol of high performance, he serves as a metaphor for our commitment to helping companies become high-performance businesses.” A metaphor for your commitment to helping companies? Well Accenture, I’m thinking that right now Tiger Woods is not exactly the paragon of commitment.
Yet, a visit to accenture.com a full week after the scandal broke revealed he is still gracing the company’s home page. The headline, over a big color image of Woods apparently looking for a misplayed shot, reads: “Opportunity isn’t always obvious.” Which, like virtually any headline used with Tiger these days, can be followed up by a punchline. (Sure, opportunity isn’t always obvious. Sometimes you have to go to the back room of a Vegas lounge to find it!)
Naughty behavior is always a danger when using a celebrity as your spokesperson. But the fact is, when using a celebrity, even one as previously squeaky clean as Woods, you’ve got to be prepared for a worst-case scenario.
In this case, I think it would have been smart for Accenture to put Tiger on the shelf for at least a few weeks or months until the scandal blew over. Accenture’s TV commercials used to end with the line “Just another day in the life of a Tiger”. And if that becomes the perception of the company’s attitude toward the Wood’s scandal — that they’ve chosen to ignore the negative implications of being tied to the Tiger — Accenture is going to turn off more than a few current and potential clients.
Editor’s note: As this post was being finalized, Gatorade announced that it was discontinuing its Tiger Woods sports drink.
Tom Rapsas is 20-year direct and loyalty marketing veteran and heads up Creative Services at Hanifin Loyalty. He can be reached on Twitter @tomrapsas
Bill Hanifin on 
December 9th, 2009 on 1:10 am
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December 9th, 2009 on 1:18 am
While Accenture’s brand is centered around Tiger…it’s not around his personal life but his performance as an athlete. But brands must take a lesson in building a brand around one thing or person…it’s putting all your eggs in one basket. It’s risky and I think Accenture has learned its lesson. It’s also a lesson for these high profile celebrities who make millions off of these sponsors…what you do in your personal life has great impact on your brand and image. There is no separation of personal versus business brand. Well said.
Cindy Kim
The Marketing Journalist: http://cindykimblog.wordpress.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/CindyKimPR
December 9th, 2009 on 1:13 pm
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December 10th, 2009 on 1:55 pm
I just went to the Accenture Web site, and it appears it has happened. As of today, they’ve pulled the plug on Tiger. He is nowhere to be seen on their home page. A late move, but a smart one, none the less.
December 11th, 2009 on 6:45 am
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December 11th, 2009 on 11:54 am
No they haven’t pulled the plug, hit refresh and you’ll see them. There is three different images on the home page, and one of them is of tiger.
December 22nd, 2009 on 11:54 am
Harvardbiz.org, as picked up by Bloomberg, had a very interesting and thought-provoking article on the risk vs. value of celebrity endorsements: http://bit.ly/6kzMMy
The P&G example of Mr. Clean that they cited is a very compelling notion. There’s no such thing as a skeleton in a closet any more when you are a high profile celeb, and brands better recognize that straight up.
Is it worth it any more when every cellphone is a camera and every tale out of school is a potential blog item? Are brands really prepared for the day when their celeb endorser goes belly up?
My blog continues that discussion: http://www.commcoreconsulting.com/blog/
Nick Peters, CommCore Consulting Group, Washington DC
January 29th, 2010 on 10:30 am
[...] more, as we recently saw with golfing legend you-know-who, there’s the potential downside of aligning your company with a celebrity whose reputation [...]