• Wall Street Journal, WCBS Newsradio 880, Fast Company, MSNBC, Thursday, April 8, 2010 10:38 AM

A black-and-white Nike ad featuring the paternalistic voice of Tiger Woods' deceased father and a head shot of his repentant-looking son may not, down the line, be generating the enduring buzz that the Apple Super Bowl spot has, but it, too, will only be around for a limited run and has been a hot topic of conversation this morning (at least at our coffee urn). The :30 spot broke yesterday on ESPN and the Golf Channel and reportedly will vanish from the airwaves, if not the Internet, by tomorrow, Suzanne Vranica reports.

The anchors on WCBS Newsradio 880 this morning felt the ad was "creepy." In Fast Company, Alissa Walker writes: "We'd much rather have heard the voiceover of a hysterical Elin Woods on that fateful Thanksgiving night, as re-enacted in a recent "South Park." That would have at least been more realistic." In the spot, Earl Woods says: "I want to find out what your thinking was; I want to find out what your feelings are. And did you learn anything?" It fades out with an image of the trademark Nike swoosh.

"We support Tiger and his family," Nike says in a statement. "As he returns to competitive golf, the ad addresses his time away from the game using the powerful words of his father."

An MSNBC story, meanwhile, makes the case that Woods may be the most overpaid athletic endorser ever. "It's clear that he was never worth the vast sums he was paid to endorse cars, razors, and sports drinks," the story says, citing Buick's sales plunge and the "Tiger Focus" Gatorade fiasco as prime examples.

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