Gatorade Hoax Pokes Fun At Tiger Woods

Sports News - January 12th, 2010 - Written By John

Gatorade has become the nation's leading sports drink because of it's appealing marketing campaigns and connections with pro athletes. So much so that it's bottles have themselves been somewhat iconic, transforming to deliver inspiring messages for consumers to 'carpe diem', with scribblings like "Bring It" and "Shine On" printed on the sides.

One of their two best endorsers, Tiger Woods, has only propelled the company to new levels, helping create the drink "Focus" with his name all over it, and participating in popular commercials. Such athletes have become important to the company's image, and their performance has become almost synonymous to the drink they represent.

But one rogue artist is using the bottles' popularity to get across an entirely different message, reminding consumers of Woods' infidelity and dishonestly revealed two months ago.

Yahoo! Sports reported Monday that several grocery stores, including one in Colorado, has found Gatorade bottles with the tag "Unfaithful" written on the side, along with a grainy wedding photo of Woods standing alongside wife Elin Nordegren. It is not known if the bottles contain genuine Gatorade.

The beverage's spokeswoman Karen May told the Associated Press on Monday that the labels were phony, and that the company would be looking into pressing charges against the artist.

Woods was the center of a nation-wide drama, which originally started with him being involved in a single-car crash in his neighborhood. Initial reports stated that Nordegren bashed his window in with a golf club to free him from the vehicle, but those reports changed when it was learned she was chasing him with the club after learning he had been having an affair. As many as a dozen women have come forward since then, saying they had been sleeping with the golf star for as many as three years.

Woods has since admitted to "transgressions", and decided to take an indefinite leave from golf to fix his marriage. He offered Nordegren $5 million to stay with him, but she ultimately ignored the request and is filing for divorce. Several Golf Betting Lines are floating odds on when he will return.

Gatorade said it planned to remove "Focus" from the shelves even before Woods admitted to having the affairs, but it probably has a whole lot more incentive now.