FILE - In this Feb. 21, 2009, file photo, Tiger Woods follows through during the second round of the Accenture Match Play Golf Championship tournament at The Gallery Golf Club at Dove Mountain, in Marana, Ariz. Global consulting firm Accenture Ltd. has ended its relationship with Tiger Woods, marking the first major sponsor to cut ties altogether with the golfer since his alleged infidelities surfaced. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin, File)
Global consulting firm Accenture PLC has ended its relationship
with Tiger Woods, marking the first major sponsor to cut ties
altogether with the golfer since his alleged infidelities surfaced
and he announced an indefinite leave from the sport to work on his
marriage.
In its first statement since the Woods' scandal erupted,
Accenture said Sunday the golfer is "no longer the right
representative" after the "circumstances of the last two weeks."
The move ends a six-year relationship during which the firm
credited its "Go on, be a Tiger" campaign with boosting its image
significantly. Accenture has used Woods to personify its claimed
attributes of integrity and high performance.
"After careful consideration and analysis, the company has
determined that he is no longer the right representative for its
advertising," Accenture said, adding that "it wishes only the best
for Tiger Woods and his family."
The firm plans to immediately transition to a new advertising
campaign, with a major effort scheduled to launch later in 2010. An
Accenture spokeswoman declined to comment further. Advertising firm
Young & Rubicam, which has handled the company's Tiger Woods
ads, also would not comment on the move.
One of the risks of advertising tied to a celebrity is that
"your image gets carried by someone you can't control," said
Jonathan Bernstein, president of Bernstein Crisis Management.
"They definitely understand there's damage," Bernstein said of
Accenture.
Accenture's advertising campaign was almost entirely built
around Woods and his success, portraying his ability to sink a key
putt or hit out of the rough. If Woods had acknowledged mistakes
and said he would be back in a month, Accenture might be able to
ride it out, said Rick Burton, a professor of sports management at
Syracuse University, in an interview.
But Accenture can't afford to wait for what could be a long time
before Woods returns.
"They had tied everything in their campaign to Tiger Woods it
appeared," he said. "If he's not golfing, those ads don't make
sense."
Burton said Accenture's billboards and airport advertising need
to be replaced quickly. Without a backup plan, the company might
fall back on something simple and conservative that could highlight
its logo.
"It is probably prudent to take a low-key, conservative approach
until they determine what their next message is that they want to
send," he said. Accenture will have to determine whether it wants
to stick with sports or whether its been too burned by what
happened and will go another route, Burton added.
"Accenture has made a decision to not continue with their
sponsorship. We are disappointed but respect their decision," said
Mark Steinberg, Woods' agent at IMG Worldwide. The PGA Tour said it
would have no comment.
Accenture has been title sponsor since 2001 of the Match Play
Championship, a lucrative World Golf Championship event that draws
the top 64 players from the world ranking. Accenture earlier this
year renewed its sponsorship of the tournament through 2014. The
contract is separate from its business endorsement with Woods.
The management consulting, technology services and outsourcing
company has clients in more than 120 countries and about 177,000
employees across 52 countries. Starting as the consulting arm of
now-defunct accounting firm Arthur Andersen, it split off in 1989
under the name Andersen Consulting, eventually ending all ties with
Andersen and changing its name to Accenture.
The company went public in 2001 and now has a market cap of $26
billion. Earlier this year Accenture shifted its place of
incorporation from Bermuda to Ireland, where it has done business
for about 40 years.
Woods' array of endorsements helped him become the first sports
star to earn $1 billion, according to Forbes. But while not
terminating its relationship completely, another major Woods
sponsor pulled away this weekend.
On Saturday, Gillette, which uses the slogan "The best a man can
get," said it won't air advertisements featuring Woods or include
him in public appearances for an unspecified time. Woods was hired
by Gillette in 2007 and has been in ads for Gillette Fusion Power
razors with titles like "Phenom" and "Champions" with other stars
including tennis great Roger Federer and soccer player Thierry
Henry.
Other sponsors continue to stick with Woods for the time
being.
Electronic Arts, whose EA Sports division has been selling Tiger
Woods video golf games for a decade, said Sunday, "We respect that
this is a very difficult, and private, situation for Tiger and his
family. At this time, the strategy for our Tiger Woods PGA TOUR
business remains unchanged." The game's next edition featuring
Woods comes out in six months.
AT&T said Sunday that it continues to evaluate its
relationship with the golfer. Watch maker Tag Heuer did not return
a call Sunday, but its Web site continues to display photos of
Woods wearing the Link and Golf Watch models.
Nike Inc. said late Friday that it supported Woods' decision to
take time off.
AP Golf Writer Doug Ferguson contributed to this story from
Jacksonville, Fla., and AP Business Writer Jennifer Malloy Zonnas
contributed from Los Angeles.
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