Undoubtedly, the alliance between Nike and Tiger Woods underwent hoops of trials while it existed. Amidst the recent news of an emotional ending to the 27-year-long partnership between the two, it’s time we turn the pages of history and explore some of the moments from their partnership. Though the time together between the brand, and the golfer was profitable and memorable, it was not always beautiful.

One such incident involves the time when Elin Nordegren, the then-wife of the 15-time major winner, was deeply enraged by an ad formulated by the brand. At that time, the former couple’s marriage was also going through a tough time. The advertisement could almost push her to sue Nike for its self-profiting actions, but gladly, it didn’t!

How did Nike manage to drive Tiger Woods’s ex-wife ‘violently angry?’

The year 2009 was one of the most testing times in Elin Nordegren and Tiger Woods’s marriage. Amidst all the personal tensions that were going on between them at the moment, in 2010, Nike released a commercial that ripped off the audio from a 2004 documentary featuring the golfer’s father, Earl Woods.

Nike’s advertisement molded Earl Woods’s words in such a way that Woods Sr.’s original intent was altered altogether. What was originally said about Woods’s mother, Kultida Woods, was somehow twisted into a seemingly beyond-the-grave message for him as he made a return to the greens post-scandal. This enraged Elin, and she termed the ad “cheesy.” However, she did not sue Nike for its actions.

An anonymous friend told People at the time, “Elin was violently angry over this commercial and thought it was a cheesy thing to do.” They added, “[Elin] wouldn’t have gone near the Masters under any condition, but that just made her madder… I wouldn’t be surprised if she files for divorce sometime soon.”

via Getty

As Nike and Tiger Woods seal the pages of their long-lasting history, this exchange becomes an important point in their togetherness to remember. But what was this ad all about that caused so much trouble?

Nike’s problematic commercial explored

Back in 2010, Nike marked the return of their then-ally Tiger Woods with a 33-second commercial formulated by the ad agency Wieden + Kennedy. This featured a black-and-white picture of Woods looking directly into the camera, while Earl Woods gave him a message from beyond.
This commercial twisted a conversation involving Woods’s parents into a different version of father-son advice using sophisticated technology. Earl Woods was edited to be seen saying to his son, “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. Did you learn anything?”

However, this was never a message directed at Tiger Woods. This imaginary conversation formulated by Nike was what did not sit right with Nordegren, and it was revealed that it created trouble in the duo’s marriage. As both giants solidified the speculations about an end to their years together, only time will tell what the next move will be for the golfer.