Lewis, Mickelson Team In KPMG Ads Focusing On Empowerment Of Women In Business

KPMG today launched an ad campaign starring golfers Phil Mickelson and Stacy Lewis for its upcoming series of events focused on the advancement, development and empowerment of women in business and the sport of golf. The campaign leads into the inaugural KPMG Women's Leadership Summit and KPMG Women's PGA Championship in June. Two TV commericals -- "Glass Ceilings" and "The Usual?" -- will air on national network and cable TV. "Glass Ceilings" is a dramatic spot in which Lewis embodies a new generation of women leaders who are breaking glass ceilings in business, while "The Usual?" takes a light-hearted approach, featuring Mickelson and Lewis competing against each other head-to-head on the course. The campaign will be extended across print and digital channels in prominent media outlets leading up to and beyond the women's championship. This is the first time a male golfer has taken a role of this prominence in promoting a women's professional tournament (KPMG). Mickelson said of KPMG, "I love what they're doing with getting involved with the LPGA. I was not aware of how difficult it has been to work their way up in corporate America and the challenges they've had to overcome. I love the whole idea of the glass ceiling commercial and not having any limits in what they can do and achieve. It's a cool message." The AP's Doug Ferguson notes KPMG until recently "had not been as visible in golf beyond the personal endorsements," but that "changed last year when it became title sponsor of an LPGA major." The KPMG Stacy Lewis Junior All-Star Invitational in Arkansas "is for 32 girls and 32 boys in mixed pairings." There will be a "winner from each gender, along with an overall team competition -- boys vs. girls -- based on the top eight scores of each gender." Lewis said the goal was to create a "gender-blind respect" (AP, 3/31).