老虎伍兹惹麻烦 赞助商观望

As the din over Tiger Woods's car accident and alleged extramarital affairs grows louder, most of the golfer's corporate sponsors appear to be taking a page from the sports-marketing playbook: Wait to gauge any long-term fallout from the scandal and consider letting contracts lapse when they come up for renewal.

Advertisers can't make 'knee-jerk' decisions when crises like these hit, because 'it's hard in the world of 24 hours of instant information to know you have the complete story,' says Tony Pace, chief marketing officer for the Subway sandwich chain, part of Doctor's Associates. Earlier this year, Subway had to decide whether to stick with Michael Phelps after a photo surfaced of the Olympian smoking marijuana. Ultimately Subway continued its sponsorship of the swimmer.

Controversies surrounding major athletes aren't unusual, from quarterback Michael Vick's conviction on dogfighting charges to the steroid scandals involving baseball stars like Alex Rodriguez of the New York Yankees. But celebrity endorsements remain an important promotional tool for marketers.

For athletes, they are a big business. Mr. Woods alone rakes in roughly $100 million a year on his endorsement deals, according to people familiar with them.

Advertisers do have some protections. Major endorsement pacts typically include a 'morality clause,' that gives the sponsor a way out. Still, companies often hang on, sports-marketing executives say. Most sponsors, including Subway, Visa and Swatch Group, stood by Mr. Phelps. Kellogg was an exception, severing its ties with him for behavior 'not consistent with Kellogg's image.'

Wednesday, representatives of Nike, Procter & Gamble's Gillette, videogame maker Electronic Arts, PepsiCo's Gatorade sports drink and laser-eye surgery chain TLC Vision said their relationships with Mr. Woods hadn't changed. (Pepsi said its recent decision to drop a Gatorade product named for Mr. Wood's wasn't related to the scandal.) Jet-rental company NetJets said Monday that it continued to support Mr. Woods.

AT&T and sports-collectible retailer Upper Deck declined to comment. Consulting-firm Accenture and watch maker Tag Heuer, an LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton unit, couldn't be reached for comment.

Behind the scenes, these advertisers are likely to be tracking how sales and consumer perceptions are being affected by the scandal, sports-marketing executives say. Consumers are disappointed by Mr. Woods's alleged behavior, and the golfer is generating a good deal of negative buzz, according to a study released Tuesday by Millward Brand, a brand-research agency owned by ad company WPP. It will take some time to undo the damage, the agency said.

But it is 'grossly premature' to asses the extent of any long-term damage to Mr. Woods's reputation and the impact on a given brand, says Kevin Adler, founder and president of Engage Marketing, a Chicago sports and entertainment marketing firm. 'Superior performance on the field of play has the very real potential to re-establish Tiger's brand,' he said.

Representatives for Mr. Woods couldn't be reached for comment.