Los Angeles (United States) (AFP) – Golf equipment giant Callaway issued an apology on Tuesday for a now-cancelled advert which showed a male golfer shoving a female player to the ground when she reaches for his new driver. The commercial, which was released online last week before being pulled, triggered a backlash over its depiction of violence against women, in addition to calls for a boycott of Callaway products.
Callaway golf chief executive Chip Brewer said in a statement on Tuesday that the company had launched an investigation into how the advert — produced by golf media firm Good Good Golf — had been approved. “Last week Good Good Golf and Callaway posted a video to promote a co-branded driver,” Brewer said in a statement. “While the video was produced by Good Good, it was approved by Callaway prior to posting. That approval should never have happened. Mistakes were made and we are taking the matter very seriously.”
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“As we deal with the consequences of our mistake and complete our investigations, I want to make it clear that we sincerely apologize for the video. The content was inappropriate and does not reflect our values. To be clear: we are unequivocally against discrimination, domestic violence or threatening behavior of any kind…I assure you we will learn from this and do better.”
The online advert showed Good Good co-founder Garrett Clark barging Epson Tour professional player Alexis Miestowski to the ground when she attempts to reach for his driver, before warning her: “Do not touch my new driver.” Good Good Golf, which centers its business around a successful YouTube channel aimed at bringing a younger audience to the sport, had already apologized for the controversial advert. “We posted a video to our channels that ultimately depicted actions that are not aligned with our values as a brand,” Good Good said in a statement. “We have since taken that content down. And sincerely apologize. Good Good has always stood for making the game of golf more inclusive to all, and we will continue to ensure that is our mission moving forward.”
Good Good’s rise will see the company be the title sponsor for the PGA Tour’s inaugural Good Good Championship in Austin, Texas in November. PGA Tour chief executive Brian Rolapp said on Tuesday the circuit was dismayed by the advert and Good Good’s handling of the controversy. “I think what we saw was concerning, is clearly not aligned with PGA TOUR values. We take it very seriously,” Rolapp said. “I think their initial response was disappointing. It was a bit defensive and late. But I think the responses are getting better. I think we’ve seen some things this morning, we’ve had some conversations with them, so we’ll continue to monitor and work with them going forward. But no, we were disappointed with what we saw.”
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