Tiger. Toyota. Pick ‘em.

Rick Stanton, Creative Director / Managing Partner

There’s no need to spend a lot of time recanting the damage Tiger Woods has done to his brand. Still after all that’s transpired, it boggles the mind how someone could be so utterly stupid.
But it’s hardly the first time a king has been undone by ladies in waiting.
Maybe it’s more damning to men in general. To varying degrees, we‘ve all been a little stupid when it comes to the allure of the opposite sex.
But in Tiger’s case the financial fall out and the emotional reversals are catastrophic.
In the business that is sports, domination is usually greeted with disdain.
Yankees? Hate ‘em. The Red Sox were the Cubs light until they won a World Series and became smug and unbearable. Hate ‘em.
Lakers, Patriots, USC? Hate ‘em.
But Tiger kicked everyone’s butt and people loved the guy. We put up with his petulant behavior and profane tirades and tuned in to see what display of superhuman skills he would unleash on Sunday and once again, walk away with the swag.
After this? Hate ‘em. White hat to black hat in a blink of an eye.
Yet while his behavior has been scrutinized and commented on in every corner of the world, the only thing that died is his reputation. And after Elin gets done with him, his bank account.
Toyota on the other hand has killed people.
The jury is still out on how much they knew and when concerning their sticking gas pedals. My current position is they knew a lot early, and I am still not convinced the “fix” they purport is an honest mea culpa. It reminds me of being cornered, pointing quickly in another direction while yelling “What’s that?” , and running, hoping not to get caught and the crap knocked out of you. Create a distraction.
And now, the pedal next to the gas on the 2010 Prius is a problem.
Another universal brand takes it in the (insert body part here).
Who’s done the most damage? Tiger or Toyota.
You decide. But at least Toyota is talking to the public and trying to get out in front of a very big set of problems.

Worth Reading: http://adage.com/article?article_id=141856