• Ad Age, Friday, December 3, 2010 10:45 AM

Although the sex scandal created by the golfer hurt his own ability to attract customers, "it wasn't so bad it eroded all his endorsement effect," says Timothy Derdenger, assistant professor of economics and strategy at Carnegie Mellon University's Tepper School of Business and a study co-author.

Nike lost 105,000 golf-ball customers in the six months after the golfer's philandering went public. But the losses would have been even greater had they ditched him and would have cost the company $1.6 million in profits, according to the study.

The research also illuminates how the downfall of one endorser can drag down an entire industry. Some people simply stopped playing golf in reaction to the scandal, leading to a loss of $7.5 million in profits for all golf-ball companies, researchers concluded.

The companies dropping Woods include Gatorade, AT&T and Accenture, costing the golfer an estimated $22 million.

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