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TAG Heuer Stands by Tiger Woods
by Kyle Stults on December 21, 2009

Do Actions Speak Louder Than Words?

TAG issued this official news release on its website over the weekend:

TAG Heuer Stands by Brand Ambassador Tiger Woods

They just don’t want his name or likeness on any of their ads in the U.S. or Australia, that’s all.

I continue to see mixed messages in TAG Heuer’s approach to managing this crisis. A phrase comes to mind: ”Actions Speak Louder than Words”. Do they not?

I admit this is a tough situation for many sponsors who have invested HEAVILY in Tiger Woods and stand to lose a lot. TAG Heuer seems to be sitting on the fence, trying to have it both ways – ie. “standing by him” but at the same time moving swiftly to disassociate with him. I’m no PR expert, but I think that in the long run it will be difficult for TAG to continue to play both sides of the Tiger Woods saga. We shall see!

http://professionalwatches.com Jason

According to people I know within Omega US, George Clooney and Brad Pitt do not allow Omega to use them on U.S. advertisements, because it is just too much exposure. They do however, allow their images to be used around the world. The Tiger thing may be an example of this, they do not want too much Tiger exposure in the US, especially during these times. TAG has a lot of money invested in their golf watches, you know the ones Tiger helped design, some of which even have his name on them. From a fundamental business perspective, I think TAG is not necessarily playing both sides, just playing it safe.

http://thefilmnest.com The Rake

Thats a thoughtful response. I can’t say for sure (obviously) what is the correct way to approach this situation. If the Clooney / Omega thing is true (as an Omega owner who lives in LA, I can venture to guess this is accurate), that might be the best way for TAG to approach this. I really think they would be better to just stand by him now, but it is a challenging situation for advertisers and Mr. Woods I am sure.