• Wall Street Journal, Monday, December 14, 2009 11 AM

While some marketers are still assessing their relationship with the golfing great, global consulting firm Accenture PLC, which may have had the most to lose, on Sunday ended its dealings with the scandal-plagued Tiger Woods, write Emily Steel and Vanessa O'Connell.

Woods was the centerpiece of the company's business-to-business ad campaigns, which included print, cable and TV advertising in 27 countries, as well as display ads in airports and extensive internal branding within Accenture itself. Many of the firm's advertising slogans -- such as "Opportunity isn't always obvious" -- appeared archly ironic in light of Woods's admitted sexual misconduct.

Woods's decision on Friday to take a break from the game while he repairs his personal relationships appeared to give sponsors such as Nike, Procter & Gamble, Gillette and AT&T a face-saving way to reduce their association with him. Gillette became the first major sponsor to publicly sideline Woods from its advertising, on Saturday.

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