December 23 — Making official what it began about a year ago, Gillette has officially dropped Tiger Woods from its marketing and advertising campaigns, according to USA Today.
Dumping Woods and other athletes from its endorsement rolls was part of the razor giant’s overall plan to ratchet down its Gillette Champions marketing strategy, spokesperson Michael Norton told Game On! Thursday, according to reports. The Boston-based Procter & Gamble Co. subsidiary will, however, continue to showcase other athletes, including baseball great Derek Jeter and tennis star Roger Federer.
Last December, immediately following Woods’ admission of infidelity, Gillette officials said they would distance the company from the then-No. 1 golfer while maintaining its “existing marketing programs,” according to the Boston Globe. By that time, the company had already pulled 30-second ads featuring Woods from U.S. television.
Gillette signed a contract with Woods in 2007 for an undisclosed fee. Last year, with Jeter and Federer anchoring Gillette’s promos, P&G chief executive Bob McDonald left the impression that Woods was out of any future ad campaigns.
“We’ve got lots of great spokespeople [without Woods],” McDonald reportedly told the Associated Press.
Woods lost several sponsors, including Accenture, AT&T, and PepsiCo’s Gatorade, in the wake of his well-documented sex scandal.
Gillette’s Norton did not respond to a request for comments.
(Emily Kay is a regular contributor to New England Golf Monthly. Check her out on the Waggle Room, Boston Golf Examiner, and National Golf Examiner websites. You may also follow Kay on Twitter.)
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