Hot Toys November 2009
Get ready for Christmas: Here are 10 Hot Toys You Should Know About!Read more ...
Tiger Woods
Some stories just make you wonder. Out of nearly 70,000 stories that have been published on Tiger Woods over the past 3 days, you can find plenty about mistresses, infidelity, sponsors dropping Woods and thoughts on how Woods should apologize to his family. But there is one that sticks out. Yahoo’s chief executive Carol Bartz described Woods’ infidelity as a gift to the struggling media and advertising industry.
“God bless Tiger,” Bartz told audiences at the UBS Media Conference December 8, 2009. She was referring to the huge buzz the Woods story has created, the gigantic increase in page views, clicked ads and the fact that advertising revenues on the Internet are increasing as a result. According to Bartz, the Woods story has more impact than the death of Michael Jackson: “It’s kind of hard to put an ad up next to a funeral,” she said.
Ok, let’s be realistic. Internet content is about business. It is about revenues, bills need to be paid and any story that creates tension, controversy and opinion is good for any publisher and ad sales agency. And it is clear that Bartz sees the Woods story from a business perspective, as do so many of us. But her comment was tasteless as far as the Woods family is concerned.
However, even if Bartz’ comment was inappropriate, it is what was to be expected as part of the media disaster the Tiger Woods story has become.
Early today, the New York Times published an article starting that Tiger Woods finally needs to put a “face on the apology”. From the article:
“The great heavyweight champion Joe Louis said you can run, but you can’t hide, and that is true. Woods cannot hide, not on his yacht, not inside his mansions. There comes a point when a celebrity athlete whose career has been built on global allure must return to center stage and face the music.
So, what should Woods say to a fan base led to believe — by inference of a sea of brilliant ad campaigns — that Woods is something he is not?
Simple truth delivered in person, scars and all.
He should say: “I apologize — to my wife, to my children, to my parents, to the PGA Tour, to sponsors, to the legion of Tiger Woods fans, who I know are stunned and disappointed. In the process of cheating on you, I have cheated myself.”
A Maryland divorce lawyer also chimed in with some thoughts:
“To hide one lie, a thousand lies are needed.”
- Saying in India
Tiger Woods found out the hard way.
[…]
Actions have consequences. You may think they don’t, but they do. Ask any divorce lawyer. If you’re going to play, you have to pay. Think about the consequences before you act. Is it worth the cost?
Tiger Woods is about to find out.
