The ol' Tiger Woods Carbolic Smoke Ball

Years ago I read Vance Packard's "The Hidden Pursuaders". So did millions of others. It took the lid off the Madison Avenue world of advertising and gave us such "new" concepts as "depth marketing" and "motivational research", but it was published over 50 years ago in an age of relative innocence. Perhaps one of the few techniques advertisers have used since Victorian times is the personality endorsement, something that even now is probably one of the most powerful advertising tools after the rather blunt instrument of saturation marketing.

Tiger Woods' sponsorship deals appear to be in free fall since the revelations about his private life and his erratic driving methods. Big names like Rolex, American Express and Nike pay Woods millions of dollars to endorse, wear or otherwise publish their products. He quite reasonably I think, has a deal with the golf club people Titleist. He is not though the highest earning sports star, or the highest earning black sports star; that accolade goes to Michael Jordan, the basketball player, whose earnings from product endorsement dwarfs Woods' mere $24 million.

So, evidently the ad men think these people are worth it. Why? Does anybody really believe that if they buy the same golf clubs/watch/shoes/fizzy drink as Tiger Woods, their life is going to improve - any more, let us say, than touching the bone of a dead saint is going to heal you or expiate your sins? Can Tiger tap a stone and make liquid gold run from the fissures in it? Does he have the power of levitation?

It's all hocus pocus, but people believe in it apparently.