Woods Pulled From Accenture’s Web Site

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Woods Pulled From Accenture's Web Site, Gillette's Ad Campaign

By Brett Pulley and Katie Hoffmann

Dec. 13 (Bloomberg) -- Accenture Plc, the consulting company that built its marketing around Tiger Woods, removed him from its Web site, while Procter & Gamble Co. said it will begin phasing the athlete out of promotions for its Gillette brand.

AT&T Inc., also a sponsor, is evaluating its relationship with Woods, the company said in an e-mailed statement yesterday. Accenture pulled print ads from more than one publication, said a person with knowledge of the matter, who sought anonymity because the decision isn't public.

The moves suggest sponsors are taking steps to distance themselves from the golfer following reports of infidelity that surfaced last month. Woods said Dec. 11 he'll take an indefinite break from the game. The publicity may taint Accenture, which has been linked to Woods since 2003, more than other sponsors because the ads tie Woods so closely to its values, according to David Martin, president of Interbrand Corp.'s New York division.

"His qualities they're using as a metaphor for their qualities," said Martin, who leads the consulting company's golf-branding practice. "They're in a more precarious position than anybody else."

An image of Woods among cactuses, previously rotating on Accenture's main page along with photographs of a skier and skaters, was no longer on display beginning Dec. 11. Its sponsorship page excluded any mention of Woods and a search of the site for his name returned no results.

Celebrity Endorsements

Gillette, maker of the Mach3 razor, will stop running print and broadcast ads featuring Woods, and plans to phase out Web site and retail promotions in coming months, said Mike Norton, a company spokesman.

"As Tiger takes a break from the public eye, we will support his desire for privacy by limiting his role in our marketing programs," Gillette said in a statement yesterday.

AT&T, the largest U.S. phone company, said in its statement that "we are presently evaluating our ongoing relationship."

Woods issued a statement saying he'll take time off to mend family relationships and focus on being a better husband and father. "It may not be possible to repair the damage I've done, but I want to do my best to try," he said on his Web site.

Woods apologized and sought understanding from both his fans and business partners. The golfer earns $110 million in annual income from endorsements and tournaments, as estimated by Forbes magazine. In October, he became the first athlete to top $1 billion in career earnings.

Personal Lives

"It would be both premature and inappropriate to comment on the status of specific business relationships," Woods's agent, Mark Steinberg, said in an e-mail. "We have had thoughtful conversations and his sponsors have been open to a solution-oriented dialogue. Of course, each sponsor has unique considerations and ultimately the decisions they make we would fully understand and accept."

Accenture spokesman Alex Pachetti didn't return calls seeking comment.

"When you sign up to use celebrity endorsements in your advertisement, you have to be prepared to deal with things that happen to celebrities in their personal lives," said Tom Bedecarre, chairman of AKQA, a San Francisco-based digital advertising agency.

Accenture called Woods the "centerpiece" of its advertising campaign in an earlier version of one Web page taken down.

"As perhaps the world's ultimate symbol of high performance, he serves as a metaphor for our commitment to helping companies become high-performance businesses," the page, entitled "Accenture and Tiger Woods," said.

Extramarital Affairs

Until late last night, the cactus advertisement and some other print ads were visible on parts of the site.

Dublin-based Accenture fell 68 cents to $42 on Dec. 11 in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. The stock has risen 28 percent this year.

Accenture hasn't issued any statements since Woods's Nov. 27 automobile accident and subsequent reports of extramarital affairs. Other companies with marketing ties to the golfer, including sportswear maker Nike Inc. and video-game publisher Electronic Arts Inc., have said they aren't changing their media plans or advertising schedules.

Accenture's advertising campaign is problematic because the ads contain copy lines that are easy fodder for late-night comedians and headline puns, AKQA's Bedecarre said.

Late-Night Jokes

"You go through every airport in the world, and there's Tiger with some kind of copy line," Bedecarre said. "My sense is this is going to be a chance for people to reassess their plans, and reassess their copy."

Through Dec. 7, there were 20 instances of late-night television shows with jokes and skits that mentioned Woods's troubles together with products, according to Nielsen Co., which tracks TV viewing and ad recall.

Viewers remembered products tied to Woods at a rate 41 percent higher than their typical recall of brands mentioned in late-night jokes, Nielsen said. Consumers' opinion of the brands dropped 11 percent, almost double the usual 6 percent drop when a product is the butt of a late-night joke. Accenture wasn't among the names mentioned.

"It's a double-edged sword," Randall Beard, a Nielsen executive vice president, said in an interview. "The saturation of Tiger in the media has heightened the recognition of his sponsor affiliations. But at the same time for these brands, the controversy is contributing to a more negative impact on public perception."

Influencing Shoppers

The No. 1 golfer has plunged to 24th from sixth in the Davie Brown Index of celebrity endorsers, which marketers and ad agencies use to gauge the ability of personalities to influence shoppers.

Gary Beckner, Accenture's director of global marketing, discussed the company's affiliation with Woods in a 2008 interview with Bloomberg News.

As the company prepared to go public in 2001, "we needed some kind of a real impact and we thought Tiger would fit," said Beckner, who hasn't responded to recent calls.

"We don't sponsor golfers just to sponsor golfers. It has to be the right fit," Beckner said. "Right now we have a high- performance position in the market and Tiger Woods is the epitome of high performance. He's our flagship, our bright shining star. He has a lot of impact."

To contact the reporter on this story: Brett Pulley in New York at khoffmann4@bloomberg.net
Last Updated: December 13, 2009 00:00 EST

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