Tiger Woods never looked right in a Buick
How many people bought a Buick because Tiger Woods drove one?
Answer: Probably zero
News that General Motors won’t renew its 9-year endorsement deal with Woods is no surprise to anyone who watched the Big Three's CEOs ask Congress for billions last week. Business is down, and that reported $7,000,000 per year Woods takes from GM is a pretty big item in the advertising budget--especially when you want to keep the corporate plane.
In truth, the move is probably a welcome sign of common sense at GM and
at Tiger Woods World Headquarters. The real surprise is that GM ever
used Woods to promote its Buick brand in the first place. Aside from
the fact that no one believed Tiger would choose of his own volition to
drive a Buick—most young, rich athletes prefer something a little more
sporty, like an Aston Martin with two blondes in the back—the kind of
people who drive Buicks aren’t generally in Tiger’s demographic.
"I followed this deal from the beginning and I always thought there was a disconnect there," said John Murphy, a professor of advertising at the University of Texas. "The average age of a Buick owner is 65, and that never appeared to fit with the image of Tiger as a young, hip guy."
When Woods arrived on the pro sports scene, he was like a rock star, Murphy said. Does a rock star drive a Buick?
Throughout his career, Woods has been assiduous in building his brand, and Buick has always been a strange fit in his portfolio. In one corner, he’s got Nike, Gatorade, Tag Heuer watches and EA Sports video games — all hip, best-in-category endorsements. Even Woods’s endorsed financial consultancy — Accenture — is cool-sounding, if that’s possible. Then he had Buick, GM’s staid luxury brand, which appeals to quietly successful businessmen who replace their cars every couple years. Good, dependable cars for good, dependable people, not the kind of buyers easily swayed by an athlete endorser, no matter how many golf tournaments he wins.
From 1984 to 2006, Buick sales declined 70 percent. Of course, Woods has nothing to do with that, but his endorsement clearly hasn’t helped much. If General Motors wanted an endorser who appealed to Buick’s key demographic, they’d probably have more luck with Robert Wagner.
"It was not a very wise move to begin with," Murphy said of the mismatched Woods-Buick partnership. "Maybe parting was not as bad as it appears on the surface."
Murphy said Woods's reputation for authenticity, focus and hard work makes him an appealing corporate spokesman, and GM's decision doesn't diminish that. His colleague Neil Burns, another advertising professor at the University of Texas, said he even considered buying a Buick recently because of Woods. In the end he didn't, but he credits Woods with putting the idea in his mind.
GM is selling a lot of Buicks in China, though, where the brand still has allure. Quick, someone call Yao Ming’s agent!
(Tiger Woods with the keys to the first Buick Rendezvous to ever come off the assembly line in 2001. Scott Halleran/Getty Images)
Posted by: Bill | Dec 2, 2008 2:46:46 PM
ANOTHER point on the PHONY side of Tiger Woods..."JUST GIVE ME THE MONEY" Oh, OK Tiger, have another beer!!!
Posted by: Greg Pinelli | Nov 25, 2008 9:00:17 PM
Tiger's as believable a Buick driver as he is a golf course architect. In both cases he's simply a shill. He stands in front of each..smile flashing for the nanosecond he gets paid..
The first rule of spokesmanship integrity..don't sell a product you wouldn't buy. He wouldn't buy a Buick..and he certainly won't buy any Dubai or North Carolina real estate......
Posted by: Nuts4GolfinNM | Nov 25, 2008 2:29:26 PM
The sorry thing is people will pay stupid amounts of money for average cars celebrities get paid stupider amounts of money to endorse. I buy what I like to drive, not what some celebrity gets paid to shill for.
Posted by: chris | Nov 25, 2008 12:41:58 PM
China. Buick is very big in China. Chinese are growing in golf. This endorsement made sense if it the marketing was directed to China.
For the U.S., the whole idea of Tiger in a Buick is ludicrous.
Posted by: Captain Lou Albano | Nov 24, 2008 8:53:50 PM
Love this choices for his next car deal:
http://www.sportsfanlive.com/web/poll?pollId=6816848
Posted by: justin | Nov 24, 2008 7:44:03 PM
I'm ready to see Tiger have a more believable auto sponsor....
Found this very interesting site ------TIGERTEMPO.com------------
Posted by: justin | Nov 24, 2008 7:43:27 PM
I'm ready to see Tiger have a more believable auto sponsor....
Found this very interesting site ------TIGERTEMPO.com------------
Posted by: Brian | Nov 24, 2008 7:01:14 PM
Does anyone drive a Lexus because Charles Howell, Raymond Floyd and Annika drive them? Toyota threw three demographics in that mix. I can't see too many people buying a Lexus as a result either.
Posted by: chuck | Nov 24, 2008 5:23:11 PM
Obviously, the point of the deal was for Tiger to bring in a new, younger demographic, not enhance the existing one. Other than perhaps the SUV, Buick never produced any cars to fit Tiger's profile. That would've helped.