Thursday, July 27, 2000
Woods goes to Canada for GM
commercial
By DOUG FERGUSON
AP Golf Writer
Fresh off his historic victory in the British
Open, Tiger Woods broke ranks from the Screen Actors Guild's strike
by filming a commercial Wednesday in Canada for General Motors.
Woods was in the Toronto area for a Buick
commercial. The 30-second spot shows Woods winning a number of
track and field events in the Sydney Olympics using only his golf
clubs.
“Tiger is very empathetic toward actors
and entertainers,” agent Mark Steinberg said. “All he's
doing is living up to his contractual obligations. He's an athlete.
He has to uphold his relationships.”
Woods signed a five-year, $30 million deal
with General Motors late last year and carries the Buick brand
on his golf bag.
SAG and the American Federation of Television
and Radio Artists, which represent about 135,000 actors, went
on strike May 1. The unions want to change the advertising industry's
pay structure.
Woods and other athletes who make TV commercials
are mandatory members.
He went along with the strike in May by
canceling commercial shoots for Nike, his top sponsor, which were
supposed to be shown the week of the U.S. Open. That proved costly
when Woods won at Pebble Beach by a record 15 strokes.
Since then, Shaquille O'Neal made a commercial
by saying, “I'm going to Disneyland” after the Los Angeles
Lakers won the NBA title, and Olympic sprinters Michael Johnson
and Marion Jones made commercials for Nike.
Steinberg said Woods did not technically
break the strike because the spot was filmed in Canada. SAG spokeswoman
Ilyanne Kichaven disagreed and said Woods could be subject to
disciplinary action.
“If there's a commercial being done
in Canada, it is breaking the strike,” Kichaven said.
Woods, 24, has become the most marketable
figure in sports. After shattering records to win the U.S. Open,
he became the youngest player to complete the career Grand Slam
with another record-setting performance in the British Open at
St. Andrews.
Buick said while it was aware of the strike,
it was only protecting its interests.
“We delayed this shoot as long as we
possibly could,” spokesman John Wray said, referring to the
Olympic theme of the commercials.
He said Buick would continue to develop
TV commercials only as needed, but will do what it must to remain
competitive.
It was Woods' first commercial since SAG
went on strike.
“His only stance is being loyal to
his sponsors,” Steinberg said. “Tiger's position is,
'If I was an actor, I probably wouldn't be doing this (filming
the commercial). But my trade is sports. I'm an athlete.'”
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