The latest:
GOODBYE, SIGN BOY: What happens when you get really successful? They turn you into a cartoon.
Golf shoe leader FootJoy has decided its time to switch from its Sign Boy advertising campaign to something even more light-hearted. Eleven PGA Tour players who endorse FootJoy products will appear as animated superheroes in four spots, the first of which airs during this weekends Mercedes Championships.
The Bruce Bannerish plot involves supercharged products exposed to magma radiation. These fanciful items are then employed by said superheroes, who sport names such as Lefty (Phil Mickelson), Captain Fiji (Vijay Singh) and The Swede (Jesper Parnevik). And watch out for Lord Monty as well.
‘The new campaign is designed to break through the ‘sameness’ of golf equipment advertising and expand the imagination, while resonating within every golfer,’ said Rob Kelley, director of brand marketing for FootJoy. Its always hard to move away from an award-winning campaign such as Sign Boy. But we felt it was time for a change.
The Sign Boy campaign featured an overzealous tournament standard bearer who touted FootJoy product features and benefits while annoying many of the worlds top players. The ads became a launching pad for other humorous campaigns from sister company Titleist and FootJoy, whose image until recently was seen by some as country-club stolid.
A TAYLORMADE-MAXFLI DEAL, SORT OF: Instead of straight-out buying Dunlop Slazenger Group as it was rumored to be doing, TaylorMade-adidas Golf has negotiated a license and distribution agreement that lets TMaG make its golf balls (as well as Maxfli, Dunlop and Slazenger balls) at the DSG plant in Westminster, S.C. TaylorMade also has a 15-month option for a partial purchase of Maxfli and Slazenger. But for the moment, its business as usual for the three DSG brands, at least as far as what consumers will see.
