Gillette, EA Form Global Partnership Based On Gaming Tourney
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Woods To Face Off Against Finalists In
Gillette-EA Sports Champions Of Gaming Tourney |
Gillette and EA Sports will team up for several co-promotions, including the newly created Gillette-EA Sports Champions of Gaming videogame tournament, the largest gaming tournament in the world. The event will debut in October, and finalists will compete against Gillette endorsers golfer Tiger Woods, ATPer Roger Federer and Yankees SS Derek Jeter in an event in Tampa in January. The partnership also includes online efforts and other elements designed around the Xbox 360 Live and EA Sports in-game environments. Woods attended Thursday's press conference announcing the partnership (Gillette). Gillette Communications Dir Michael Norton said of the partnership, "We looked at some of the passions that men have and gaming is definitely one of them." EA Sports President Peter Moore said, "We anticipate that there will be some very fierce competition taking place around the world on some of our most popular franchises" (BOSTON GLOBE, 8/29). Gillette Senior VP/Blades & Razors Peter Clay: "Times have changed. Young guys are still watching live-action sports, so we still have a big presence there, but they're also spending a lot of time gaming." Massachusetts-based Celebrity marketing President Cleon Daskalakis said of the partnership, "From a strategic standpoint, it definitely makes sense. Their (demographics) are very similar" (BOSTON HERALD, 8/29).
TALK OF THE TOWN: Meanwhile, Woods is keeping a high profile this week with several media appearances following Tuesday's launch of EA Sports' "Tiger Woods PGA Tour 09" videogame. Woods appeared on CBS' "The Early Show" Thursday morning and played the game with Maggie Rodriguez, who said of Woods, "Just because he’s not playing doesn’t mean he’s not working. He still manages a string of endorsement deals." Rodriguez: "How are you able to sit at home and play a videogame with a toddler running around?" Woods: "That’s the hard part. You can only do it when she’s sleeping" (CBS, 8/28). Woods also was the headline guest Wednesday night on NBC's "Late Night." NBC’s Conan O’Brien noted PGA Tour ratings "have suffered terribly since you’ve been sidelined. ... I would think networks are trying to convince you to please, just drive through in the background and wave or something.” Woods: "That would be interesting." O'Brien challenged Woods to play one hole on the videogame. Woods, after defeating O’Brien: “Did I beat you? I thought you were undefeated” (NBC, 8/27).
FLOP SHOT? GOLF.com's Alan Bastable wrote under the header, "Tiger Lets His Game Talk For Him, And It's Getting Kind Of Old." Woods Thursday was a guest on the "Dan Patrick Show," and Bastable noted throughout the interview, "which Patrick only landed so Tiger could plug his new video game, Woods was curt and unrevealing -- typical Tiger, in other words -- and I'm not the only one who thought so." The piece was "peppered with terse responses, dead air and about as much excitement as a crossword puzzle." Patrick said on the air following the piece, "He purposefully goes out of his way to not give you great answers. Tiger to me is the toughest interview in all sports. You can't give Tiger a yes or no question because he will take the yes or no." Bastable wrote Woods in Thursday's call "sounded distracted at best, disenchanted at worst, and wholly unengaged. ... Woods and his powerbrokers will never have anything to gain because they already have it all" (GOLF.com, 8/28).
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