Accenture Debuts First New Ad Campaign Since Dropping Tiger

Accenture Trying To Start Afresh With New Ad Campaign After Dropping Woods Last Month

After ending its six-year sponsorship deal with Tiger Woods last month, Accenture is "trying to start afresh" with a new ad campaign, according to Emily Steel of the WALL STREET JOURNAL. The company's new campaign, "based on an idea Accenture's ad agency already had on hand, was put on a fast track." The campaign replaces Woods "with a lineup of animals pictured in ways designed to jibe with Accenture's longstanding slogan: 'High Performance. Delivered.'" After "nearly a month of focus-group testing and production work, Accenture is rolling out the new global marketing campaign this week." The creatures, which include an "elephant, a chameleon and some frogs and fish, will star in a series of TV, print and online spots," and will "appear in airport ads in 28 countries" starting today. TV commercials are "set to begin airing in February in conjunction with the WGC Accenture Match Play Championship." Steel notes although Accenture is launching a new campaign, the ads "have a tone and feel similar" to those featuring Woods. Accenture said that it is budgeting about $40-50M this year on the campaign, which is "on par with the total it spent in past years when Mr. Woods was in the fold." Marketing experts believe that it will "take a lot to sever Mr. Woods's image from the Accenture brand." But the company said that it "hasn't suffered an 'economic impact' from the scandal, and that it would consider tapping individuals for ad campaigns in the future" (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 1/14).