MasterCard is breaking two new ads with Tom Watson, Camilo Villegas and other golfers this week to coincide with its presenting sponsorship of the Arnold Palmer Invitational in Orlando.
Watson, Villegas, Ian Poulter and Graeme McDowell, each of whom wear the MasterCard marks when they play, will be featured in two 30-second spots promoting the credit card’s “PGA Tour Player Experience” packages.
McCann Erickson, MasterCard’s longtime ad agency, developed the creative for the spots. MasterCard is a PGA Tour official marketing partner.
“These golfers help personify our cardholders’ passion for the sport,” said Cheryl Guerin, group head of U.S. marketing for MasterCard Worldwide. “They help us and our card issuers and merchants strengthen the connection to our cardholders.”
The ads will promote MasterCard’s expansion of the player experience packages, which allow cardholders at the “world elite” level to play any of 10 TPC courses. Previously, the package was good only at TPC Sawgrass, but other courses, including TPCs at Las Vegas, Doral, Scottsdale and more, have been added to the menu.
In the spots, average Joes express their surprise to find themselves in the same locker room with Watson and other pros.
The package includes the round of golf, caddie, golf bag with name on it, personalized locker, lesson from a pro and other amenities. The experience ranges from $529 at Deere Run to $1,580 at Scottsdale.
The spots will run during the tournament’s broadcast on Golf Channel and NBC this weekend and throughout the golf season. MasterCard’s presenting sponsorship includes more than 30 units each on NBC and Golf Channel.
“This is our way of giving our cardholders the experience of what it’s like to be a PGA Tour pro,” Guerin said.
At the Arnold Palmer Invitational this week, MasterCard also will be integrating its four-year-old on-site facility, the MasterCard Club, into the Golf Channel reports. Club visitors will be able to watch live programming from the Golf Channel studio through the week.
