AmEx announced this morning that it has signed Tiger
Woods as an international spokesperson for the company.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but part of the deal
includes a donation of $1M from AmEx to the Tiger Woods
Foundation. Among the first TV ads featuring Woods will be
a spot for AmEx Financial Advisors (AmEx).
DETAILS: AmEx signed Woods to a five-year endorsement
deal, "beating out rival card marketer MasterCard for
America's hottest sports personality," according to Terry
Lefton of BRANDWEEK. Sources familiar with the talks,
ongoing since before The Masters, tell Lefton that the
package includes $5M "up front" as part of a $13M "rights
fee, and more than $30 million in ad and promotional support
using Woods." AmEx's deal was "around twice" the offer from
MasterCard, which reportedly put $2.3M up front. MasterCard
made a "last-minute matching offer," which was too late.
Lefton: "Clinching the deal, sources said, were AmEx's
guarantee of ad and promotional exposure and a promise of
contributions to the Tiger Woods Foundation." AmEx is
"expected" to make the foundation "its leading cause-related
program." Woods is AmEx's "second marquee endorser" along
with Jerry Seinfeld (BRANDWEEK, 5/19 issue).
AMEX'S WING LEAVES: BRANDWEEK's Lefton also reports
that AmEx's Andy Wing, who founded the company's two-year
old Sports & Events Group, "resigned last week." Wing
negotiated "links with high-profile properties such as" the
Cowboys and the NBA. Lefton: "But sources said Wing, a 12-
year AmEx employee, had a long-standing rift with evp-global
advertising John Hayes." One agency source told Lefton
that, "Hayes thought they were overpaying for properties and
Wing felt they weren't doing enough to leverage the
properties they had" (BRANDWEEK, 5/19 issue).
