NIKE | DRIVING RANGE | 2000
The Second He Walked Away, Everyone Sliced / NIKE "DRIVING RANGE"
Tiger Woods just walks through a driving range, and one by one, the amateurs around him start hitting perfect swings. But the moment he leaves, everyone suddenly slices their shot. The gap alone is funny.
The problem
In the late 1990s, Nike Golf was searching for a way to capture Tiger Woods' overwhelming talent in an ad. This was a time when they kept trying to find a way to express just how exceptional he was, without any dialogue or narration.
The insight
Explaining how great Tiger is with stats or commentary just doesn't land. So instead, why not show his presence spreading to ordinary people at a regular practice range? Even without him saying a word, the reactions of the people around him tell you everything about the gap in skill.
The idea
Woods shows up at a driving range and hits one shot. The regular golfers around him suddenly start swinging beautifully too, as if his aura had rubbed off on them. But once he picks up his ball and walks away, everyone goes right back to their bad swings, balls flying everywhere. There's no dialogue at all—the whole thing is told through movement alone.
What happened
Known for its playful approach and dialogue-free execution, the ad shows people hitting great shots while Tiger's around, only to start slicing the moment he leaves. There's also a story that during the long waits between takes on this shoot, Woods passed the time by juggling a golf ball—and that bit of fun ended up inspiring another legendary commercial. This ad won Outstanding Commercial at the 2000 Emmy Awards.
Afterthought
The punchline here is so perfect, and yet it's funny that the ad born from "killing time between takes" is the one people remember more. Somehow that feels very Tiger. But honestly, I just really love this image of everyone slicing the second he's gone.
Awards
- Cannes Lions Gold 2000
