Woods ad inspires a bevy of spoofs
NEW YORK — Few ads in the history of advertising have been riper for parody than Nike’s new Tiger Woods commercial, with the voice of the golfer’s late father seemingly admonishing him for his transgressions.
Additional Photos
And so within hours of its first airing, this unusual (and, some say, totally creepy) ad had spawned a new generation of Dad-talking-to-Tiger videos.
Woods told a news conference that the ad was “very apropos. I think that’s what my dad would say. It’s amazing how my dad can speak to me in different ways, even when he’s long gone.”
The ad aired Wednesday and Thursday and is not scheduled to air again.
The commercial features the voice of Earl Woods, who died in 2006, saying, “Tiger, I am more prone to be inquisitive, to promote discussion. I want to find out what your thinking was. I want to find out what your feelings are, and did you learn anything.” It ends with the trademark Nike swoosh.
“Well, that’ll make you wanna buy shoes, won’t it?” quipped ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Wednesday night.
Also mining the comic potential was Stephen Colbert. His parodies featured fatherly commentary from Ward Cleaver in “Leave it to Beaver” (“The sad thing is, there are some men my age who are still trying to be little boys”); actor Gene Wilder in “Young Frankenstein” (“You are not evil. You are good!”); and Colbert himself as Woods’ agent, pitching the new ad concept (“It makes the audience feel like THEY’RE your father. If you love it, just blink.”)
There were the numerous spoofs across the Web.
“Hey Tiger, it’s me, Dad. I need you to do me a huge, huge favor,” an actor says in one, riffing on the infamous voice mail Woods allegedly left a paramour. “You know that last commercial where you used my voice to promote the Nike brand? I would appreciate if you would not do that ever again.”
Smith estate still fights for funds
SAN FRANCISCO — Lawyers for the estate of Anna Nicole Smith have appealed a ruling that gave her none of her late billionaire husband’s fortune.
The appeal filed Thursday seeks a full review by the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals and continues a case that has outlived both parties.
In a March 19 ruling, a panel of the court sided with a Houston jury that decided in 2001 that Texas oil tycoon J. Howard Marshall never intended to leave any of his $1.6 billion estate to Smith.
Smith and Marshall married in 1994. He was 89 and she 26.
Celebrities support gay prom
TUPELO, Miss. — Green Day, former ‘N Sync member Lance Bass and celebrity chef Cat Cora are among those helping to pay for a gay-friendly prom in Mississippi next month.
Organizers say the event is open to everyone but geared toward gay students.
The American Humanist Association also will contribute $20,000 for the May 8 event in Tupelo.
The annual prom is organized by the Mississippi Safe Schools Coalition. This year’s event has drawn attention because of the case of Constance McMillen, a high school senior who challenged her school district’s rule banning same-sex dates at proms.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.