Sunday, December 13, 2009

Tiger Given the Axe


It's a tough time to be a Tiger Woods sponsor these days. Just one week after the world's top golfer became the center of the sex scandal universe, his commercial backers are scurrying to find a way out of the spotlight. Most companies have simply refused to comment, while others have issued the typical dodge and deflect statements. One company however is headed in the other direction. Enter Axe Body Spray.

Axe is claiming full responsibility for the growing list of mistresses coming out of the woodwork. This could be an exciting new development for Tiger. As the number of women claiming to have seen his penis grows, people are clamoring for an answer to the all important question: Why? Axe provides Tiger with an easy-out to his current predicament. Everyone already knows about the all-powerful and mystical properties of Axe's complete line of body sprays. This is exactly the opportunity Tiger needs to drive straight-up the fairway.

To highlight how big an opportunity this is for Tiger, one of his largest sponsors, Accenture, dropped him as a pitch-man today. The big danger here is that Accenture's departure could mark the first in a series of lost endorsements. That could spell financial Armageddon, especially if Nike jumps onto that train.

Tiger needs to reverse this river of negative media coverage. If he embraces Axe as a corporate partner he can actually combat his two biggest challenges. The first is that pesky wife of his. The second is his voracious sex drive. By placing responsibility for his sexual escapades in Axe's hands he not only gives them the street cred that they crave, but he also exonerates himself from any form of responsibility. Tiger can arrange to sue Axe for causing women to be chemically attracted to him, and then quietly withdraw the lawsuit after this whole thing blows over. That would allow Tiger to avoid an expensive divorce, and will also allow his current sponsors to save face. This is truly a win-win situation.

Tiger represents the flagship in Axe's new media strategy. Axe is trying to corner the market on fornication, and is actively harnessing the power of promiscuity to sell its wares. To accomplish this vision the company is offering other big contracts to celebrities who know how to hammer the proverbial nail. Just last week Wilt Chamberlin and Kobe Bryant became the official NBA spokesmen for the company. Charlie Sheen has been booked for a January ad campaign, and Axe is also making waves by buying the official rights to Hugh Hefner's genitals when he passes away. This is just the kind of inside the box thinking that has the company on the verge of greatness.....pun intended.