Nike released five new ad spots this week tied to The Masters, and unlike in the past, you won’t see anyone in them talking about golf clubs or golf balls.
That’s because in August, Nike exited the golf equipment business, abruptly halting production of the clubs it started making in 2002 and the balls that date back to 1998. Also in 2016, Adidas announced it was looking to get rid of its golf equipment business TaylorMade, but to this day it has still not unloaded it.
Instead of equipment, Nike’s new golf ads emphasize apparel and humor.
The five new spots play off group comedy between Nike’s biggest golf stars: Rory McIlroy, Michelle Wie, Tiger Woods, and Jason Day. Many of them end with the golfers laughing.
The spots are admittedly charming, as far as golf ads (which are often stone serious) go.
The ads are running on ESPN’s digital properties, on the Nike+ app, and on Nike’s social media accounts.
In one spot, “Nice Shoes,” the men poke fun at Wie’s gold hightop sneakers as she hits out of a sand trap. But after she makes a beautiful shot, she turns back to Day and says she can order him a pair if he likes. The sneakers are Nike, the golfers are all clad in Nike—the ad is as much for Nike footwear and apparel as it is a vehicle for its stars.
In another, “Don’t Touch Frank,” McIlroy and Day rummage through Woods’s golf bag as Woods tries to putt. He doesn’t mind their teasing until they touch Frank, his plush tiger driver-head cover. The ad is a winking reference to an ad with the same Frank from nearly a decade ago.
On Instagram, some commenters expressed confusion at seeing Day, previously endorsed by Adidas, in the spots. The explanation is that Day, who is signed to use TaylorMade clubs, was able to switch from Adidas to Nike for apparel once Nike stopped making clubs. (Nike is no longer a competitor to TaylorMade on the equipment side.) The same goes for Woods, who is signed to Nike Golf for apparel, but recently signed with TaylorMade for his club deal. These are the first Nike advertisements that show Jason Day.
After Adidas had a string of success on the golf course last year with Day, Dustin Johnson, and Sergio Garcia, Nike finds itself in great shape for this year’s Masters, which began Thursday. Woods isn’t competing, but McIlroy and Day are, and are both expected to be contenders. Adidas’s biggest star Dustin Johnson withdrew.
Nike has “set a new vision to accelerate innovation in our golf footwear and apparel business,” says global golf marketing VP Marc Patrick. The company outfitted McIlroy and Day in brand new apparel for the tournament and launched a new Tiger Woods golf shoe last month, the TW ’17. This week it also extended McIlroy’s lucrative endorsement deal contract for another 10 years.
The Swoosh is doing a lot on the golf apparel side as it looks to move on from the bad business of manufacturing clubs.
Always stay in the driver’s seat. #NikeGolfClub pic.twitter.com/xjLc1EAeB3
— Nike Golf (@nikegolf) April 2, 2017
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Daniel Roberts is the sports business writer at Yahoo Finance. Follow him on Twitter at @readDanwrite.
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