While it is "not clear exactly how" Nike "will or
should market" Tiger Woods, the company "has to figure out a
way to tie Woods' popularity not just to golf items, such as
balls, but also goods with broader appeal, such as clothes
and casual shoes," according to Andy Dworkin of the Portland
OREGONIAN. Nike VP/U.S. Marketing Mike Wilskey said that
"more efforts to tie Woods to Nike's core brand are
planned." Wilskey, on Woods: "I definitely think the halo
is there. People say not everyone can play golf, you can't
wear golf apparel on the streets, etc. But it's not really
about golf. It's about watching this amazing person in the
world of sports." But Nike Golf Dir of Marketing Mike Kelly
said that there are "no plans right now to sell" Woods' golf
shirts "outside golf shops" (Portland OREGONIAN, 7/25).
BUICK'S TUNE-UP FOR TIGER: AD AGE reports that GM's
Buick Division will "rework" its TV ads featuring Woods, via
McCann-Erickson Worldwide, MI, "in its second promotion this
year to offer 45 days in a golf dream house." While the
reworked spots are "expected to break" by the end of the
month, Woods has "refused to cross the picket line" in the
SAG/AFTRA strike (AD AGE, 7/25). Meanwhile, Buick Open
Tournament Dir Kevin Sheppard said that 66,190 any-day
tickets "have already been purchased" for next month's PGA
Tour event featuring Woods. Last year at this time, 54,301
advance tickets had been sold. While last year's event
without Woods attracted an estimated 110,000, Sheppard said,
"We have the potential to have 200,000 to 220,000 fans. And
we have two weeks to go" (DETROIT NEWS, 7/25). ESPN's Rece
Davis examined the impact of "dynasties" on sports and cited
a CBS Sports exec as saying that Woods "can singlehandedly
move a [TV] rating on Sunday 40% to 50% simply by being in
contention." Davis: "So is Tiger's domination good for
golf? In a word, probably. He's the rare athlete who
transcends his sport. He has charisma, he draws the masses
to the game" ("SportsCenter," ESPN, 7/24).
