When it comes to marketing and endorsement ideas, perfect pairings often make dollars and sense.
I don’t know how IHOP let it happen, but LPGA Tour player Brooke Pancake recently signed an endorsement deal with Waffle House.
Granted, she said in a Golf Channel interview that she prefers waffles to pancakes, but still. After all, some marketing gimmicks and endorsement opportunities are too obvious to ignore, like these:
Tiger Woods: Hormel chili dip. Have you seen his short game lately? In case that’s taken, Plan B could be Match.com. Why not expand the field, so to speak?
Phil Mickelson: H&R Block. Lefty is always complaining about paying so much in taxes. Maybe he can get some free professional help.
Jordan Spieth: Boy Scouts of America. Doesn’t he look angelic?
Rory McIlroy: Apple. It’s the world’s most valuable brand and Rory is on top of the world in golf.
John Daly: Barnum & Bailey. His entire life has been a circus.
Dustin Johnson: Priceline.com. In case you, too, are suddenly told to take a vacation from work.
Robert Allenby: Life Alert. In case he falls again and can’t get up.
Jim Furyk: Avis. He finishes second a lot and keeps trying harder.
Bubba Watson: Waffle House is taken, so how about Cracker Barrel, a restaurant chain that specializes in home-style country cuisine?
Rickie Fowler: Orange Julius. He lives and breathes the color.
Sergio Garcia: Lucky Charms. He keeps saying he has bad luck every time he’s in contention for a major.
Ian Poulter: Twitter. His 1.8 million followers rank second among tour pros behind some guy named Eldrick.
Graeme McDowell: McDonald’s. Picture G-Mac with a Big Mac in each hand.
Ernie Els: Café du Monde in New Orleans. He’s the Big Easy, after all.
Boo Weekley: U.S. Army. He wears camouflage quite a bit.
Steve Stricker: La-Z-Boy. Perfect for a tour pro who plays every once in a while.
Charles Howell III: TV Land, the cable network on which you can watch Gilligan’s Island reruns. OK, so that was Thurston Howell III. Details, details.
Erik Compton: Organdonor.gov. After all, he’s on his third heart.
Jhonattan Vegas: Caesars Palace, of course.
Bernhard Langer: A fine wine such as a German Riesling, because he also keeps getting better with age.
Colin Montgomerie: Pillsbury. I didn’t say anything about the Doughboy. You just thought it.
David Feherty: Schwinn. Biking accidents don’t keep him off the road.
Fred Couples: Eharmony.com. With his last name, shouldn’t he be endorsing an online dating service?
Vijay Singh: Deer antler spray. He used to take it every day, several times a day, even though tests determined that it didn’t include a performance-enhancing substance. He can use his profits to pay the lawyers in his suit against the PGA Tour.
Paul Goydos: Irvine Improv. I love his dry sense of humor.
John Cook: Wolfgang Puck. Or Emeril Lagasse.
Esteban Toledo: Golden Gloves. He was once a professional boxer, you know.
Miguel Angel Jimenez: Dos Equis beer. After all, he is very much like “The Most Interesting Man in the World.”
Michelle Wie: Hawaiian Punch. Finally, she’s now packing one.
Natalie Gulbis: Victoria’s Secret. Enough said.
Paula Creamer: Coffee-Mate non-dairy creamer. A natural fit.
Tiffany Joh: Starbucks. A cup of Joe, please.
Dottie Pepper: Morton’s salt, for balance.
Candie Kung: See’s. Anyone want a chocolate-covered cherry?
Lydia Ko: Pampers. Last month, she became the youngest tour pro, male or female, to be ranked No. 1 in the world. Kids these days.
Contact Randy Youngman at SouthlandGolfRY@aol.com
