The Story Behind Earl Woods’ Audio in Tiger’s Ad

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↵Leaving aside whether people thought that, in the latest Tiger Woods Nike ad released to coincide with the start of the Masters, it was distasteful to use a recording of Earl Woods (most did), there was also the question of where the company acquired a recording of a dead person that seemingly pertained to what Tiger had been going through as of late.↵↵It would have been convenient, albeit a little bizarre and creepy, if the family had footage of Earl chiding Tiger about a personal transgression redolent to his current troubles. Instead, Nike had to do a ↵little creative editing with a 2004 DVD in which Earl Woods discussing, among other things, the dynamic of his relationship with his wife.↵

↵↵⇥In the original sound bite from “Tiger: The Authorized DVD Collection,” distributed by Buena Vista Home Entertainment, Earl Woods, however, does not use Tiger’s name. In the original context, Earl was not talking to Woods, but about the golfer’s mother Kultida. ↵⇥↵⇥Earl’s full quote in the film is: “Authoritarian. Yea, Tida is very authoritative. She is very definitive. ‘Yes’ and ‘No.’ I am more prone to be inquisitive, to promote discussion. I want to find out what you’re thinking was, I want to find out what your feelings are and did you learn anything?” ↵⇥

↵⇥↵⇥Earl then adds, “So, we were two different types but we co-existed pretty well.”↵⇥

↵↵ ↵↵It’s not like Earl was never speaking to the press, so I wonder how much footage Nike went through before they decided to cull that out-of-context quote about Tiger’s mom and apply it to the golfer by imposing his name at the beginning. I’m sure there other examples of criticism, but perhaps that best conveyed what his sponsors want the public to feel: disappointment but a willingness to forgive and move on. It’s doubtful that everyone feels that way, and the worst part is that there’s no way of knowing whether that would be Earl’s actual thoughts on the matter.↵

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