The audio used for the Earl and Tiger Woods ad was taken from a 2004 interview of Earl Woods during which he was talking about his wife Kultida, not Tiger. When Earl says “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?”, he is describing his personality in comparison to Kultida’s.
It’s safe to say the voiceover used for the Earl and Tiger commercial is completely out of context to the subject at hand and adds a heavy dose of ammunition to the arsenal of the ad’s naysayers.
The way the ad is presented we are made to believe Earl is speaking directly to his son. Admonishing him. Offering fatherly advice. And in the commercial, we see Tiger looking like a chastised child.
Clearly this is not the case. The commercial was cobbled together by Wieden + Kennedy and presented as something it’s not. It’s a lie. A fabrication. Earl is not talking to Tiger. Tiger isn’t feeling remorse in the ad. He’s reacting to words his father didn’t even speak to him.
Though controversial, at least some merit could have been placed on the ad’s concept had Earl actually been talking about Tiger in the interview. Now it’s just another example of an agency bending the truth for its own gain.
