Tiger's Death by a Thousand Cuts

So now the news is that Gillette has decided to stop its advertising with Tiger Woods. It seems that we are now seeing his death by a thousand cuts. My prediction is that others will hold on but start to back off if things continue to deteriorate. Gillette, a men's brand, spun it that they are giving him the time out of the spotlight he needs. It's the time out of the spotlight they need in association with him. You don't give a winning brand time off; that is reserved for question marks. As of this writing, Accenture just announced that they were ending the sponsorship with Woods saying that he no longer represents the type of person with whom they want to associate.

Let's keep in mind that Gillette is owned by Procter & Gamble. P&G has always been protective of its reputation and the primary focus on P&G, other than Gillette, is woman. They position themselves as a family company. It makes sense that they would back off Tiger until they better know where the "wind is blowing". The postured this as being on his side, but they are playing both sides in this one. They step aside from having Tiger associated with them, and for those who support Tiger they can say that it is done for him. Well played, sir!

Companies are very concerned with their reputations. This has not been a good year for corporate reputation, with all indicators of trust at record lows. Companies do not like controversy or to be caught in situations in which they have to defend the actions of another--they have enough problems defending their own actions. Woods now is a problem.

As I have said before, this did not have to be this way. Tiger still has not stepped in front of the cameras. He continues to speak through his website. Who the hell is giving him PR advice? Whoever it is should be ushered into the PR Hall of Shame. This is one of the worst example of handling a crisis I have seen. Tiger is allowing everyone to control this story other than himself. This is not an age when the news media take a quote from someone. This is an era of 24-hour news outlets that need to manufacture the news they cannot get otherwise to attract interest. They are sharks and Tiger is bleeding.

The first rule of a crisis is to take control of the situation, tell the truth, and take the offense rather than the defense. Admit your mistakes publicly, muster a few tears and look contrite. Do something, but stop hiding behind a manufactured, impersonal website. For those who think this is Tiger speaking to us directly through his site, let's get real. He has an entourage and they are hard at work. They are either terrible at their jobs, or he is the worst client they have ever had and refuses to listen to their advice.

While we're at it, can someone please tell David Letterman to stop with the Tiger jokes. He keeps referencing Tiger's problems and associating them with his own. He has a wife at home as well. Cool it, Dave. You came out of this looking like someone taking the high road. Don't go low road and ruin everything for a few laughs.