Winning takes care of everything. Or so says Nike. 

The sporting goods giant posted a quickly contentious image on its Nike Golf Facebook and Twitter accounts this week in the wake of Tiger Woods’ record-tying eighth victory at the Arnold Palmer Invitational showing the newly-(re)crowned world No. 1-ranked golfer sizing up a putt. The slogan, “Winning takes care of everything,” a favorite saying of Woods since 2009, is front and center. At the bottom, of course, is Nike’s famous swoosh—alongside the word, “Victory.”

Nike says the statement references Woods’ perseverance to return to the top of his sport and is a salute to his athletic performance. But everything? Please. Sports fans weren’t the only ones who devoured every titillating detail of Woods’ personal life when it was exposed following his late 2009 admission of multiple extra-marital affairs.Continue reading...

Nike has routinely shelled out millions to athletes to wear its swoosh and use its equipment during competition. On Monday, the company made its next big play. Following months of rumors, the global athletic brand announced it has signed the world's No. 1 player, Rory McIlroy, to carry Nike forward.

The deal is reported to be worth up to $250 million for McIlroy, 23, over a decade.

The first opportunity McIlroy will have to show off his new Nike duds in a tournament will come on Thursday as he joins fellow Nike big-bucks endorser Tiger Woods to kick off the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship.Continue reading...

Somebody at AT&T likes to see the company's logo around town. Dallas was named as the location for its new headquarters in 2008 and, since then, the telecommunications giant has put its name on the AT&T Cotton Bowl Classic and the AT&T Performing Arts Center there. Now, they are adding another local sponsorship: the AT&T Byron Nelson golf tourney, which serves as a fundraiser for both Salesmanship Club Youth and Family Centers as well as the pocketbooks of a few big-name pro golfers.

This will actually be the second PGA tournament that AT&T will sponsor, having signed on with the inaugural big-bucks National event held in the D.C. area every Fourth of July weekend since 2007. AT&T will have to wait till 2015 to get its name on Byron Nelson, though, since HP has its name there till then (and has had it there since 2003), according to PGATour.com.Continue reading...

It’s not cheap to put on a big-name golf tournament, especially when it’s the Tiger Woods World Challenge, which pays out $1 million to whoever finishes first (this year, it was Graeme McDowell, above) and $120,000 to the golfer who finishes in last place.

Eighteen of the top players in the world take part in the event which started in 1999, a decade before he banged his Cadillac Escalade into a fire hydrant and a tree outside his Florida home at 2:30 in the morning and his life began to unravel as news of his many mistresses began to spill out. Woods has since had his personal life opened up for pretty much everybody to see and gone through a divorce. Many of his endorsement deals disappeared (see ya, Accenture, AT&T, Gatorade, and GM) and a few stuck with him (Nike, Electronic Arts). Tiger did his best to lay low for a bit.

And even though it appears that Woods has gotten his golf game back in action and he’s moving forward with his life, there is still some fallout from the scandal. Chevron pulled out as the title sponsor of the World Challenge, which benefits the Tiger Woods Foundation, after last year’s event and “a deal with a major company unexpectedly fell through at the last minute in early September,” according to the Associated Press.Continue reading...

Most of the world’s best golfers are hanging out in the suburbs of Chicago this weekend, but they're not there to share a cold one and reminisce about good times. It’s the 39th Ryder Cup, the golf tournament that features the best players in Europe taking on their American counterparts every two years. 

The tourney, featuring such pros as Tiger Woods, Sergio Garcia, Rory McIlroy, and Jim Furyk, kicked off Friday and should finish up on Sunday, barring any unforeseen incidents. It is one of the few events that pro golfers team up to play rather than competing as individuals. Europe has won all but two of the events since 1995, but the Americans have the home-course advantage this time around.

Economies can be crumbling. Hemlines can be rising. Icebergs can be melting. But pretty much nothing stops these two sides from doing battle for bragging rights. After all, there is no prize money involved. It’s all about pride. And this time around, everybody around will be sporting new Ryder Cup logos, which was designed by the folks at Interbrand, which just happens to own brandchannel, as part of a brand refresh to help this tourney stand apart from all the endless rest.Continue reading...

FedEx is promoting its 2012 FedExCup PGA tournament with a trio of witty golf-related spots (the message: ship those clubs) by BBDO; more below.Continue reading...

Before Tiger Woods came on the golf circuit and livened things up on and off the course, professional golf was decidedly unhip. The Professional Golf Association wasn’t exactly known for getting involved in anything that might have been labeled “young” or “cool.”

Times have changed, of course. Tiger’s star may be fading, but the PGA isn’t planning to give up all those new markets that Woods and friends opened up for the organization. The PGA wants to keep that young, vibrant beat going. And it’s using social media to help. This week, the PGA Tour got its first branded Twitter hashtag, #driverlove, which is being worn on the hats of players at the Northern Trust Open in California, as Mashable notes.

#driverlove tees off on golf gear manufacturer TaylorMade’s “larger campaign that plays off the special connection that some players feel with their clubs.” The brand's driverlove.taylormadegolf.com microsite is showcasing fans' tweets and twitpics of their beloved Taylor drivers using the #driverlove hashtag.Continue reading...

Crocs Inc. is expected to announce that it exceeded $1 billion in revenue last year for the first time in its 10-year history, thanks to an expanded retail presence and snazzier styles, but don’t you dare think that’s stopping the Colorado-based company from trying to make a few more bucks. 

The Wall Street Journal reports that Crocs is on a licensing spree to spread the brand name and attain more revenue. The company has “announced licensing agreements with several manufacturers as it continues to expand its brand to accessories, apparel and eyewear.”

“Licensing presents an opportunity to leverage one of our most valuable assets – the global power of the Crocs brand - by associating it with best-in-class products that go beyond footwear,” said Mike DeBell, Crocs VP of Global Sales, in a press release. “More than 200 million pairs of Crocs shoes have been sold, in more than 90 countries around the world. That’s powerful testimony to the connection forged with consumers by the Crocs brand. Through strong international and regional licensing partners, we plan to extend the power of our brand and make new consumer connections.”Continue reading...