Good Good Golf faces mounting backlash for a controversial online video ad that sparked accusations of sexism.
On Thursday, the digital media company lost its three-year partnership with Callaway Golf, while the PGA Tour said Good Good would no longer sponsor one of the association’s tournaments in November. The ad, co-branded with Callaway, shows a male golfer shoving a female golfer to the ground as she reaches for his driver.
Although Good Good has said the ad was supposed to be a parody of the horror movie “Obsession,” critics have condemned the video for making light of violence against women. Both Good Good and Callaway have apologized for the ad, which has been taken down.
“This is another example of creating content with a narrow view, without bothering to think of the larger audience,” said crisis communications expert Patrick Riccards in an email.
Both Good Good and Callaway failed to “own their failures” with their initial apologies, demonstrating that neither “truly understood where the process went off the rails and what they did wrong,” Riccards added.
Good Good didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
Callaway CEO Chip Brewer apologized for the ad on Aug. 25, saying that Good Good Golf had produced the spot, which Callaway then approved.
In the 60-second ad, which promoted Callaway’s new driver co-branded with Good Good, Garrett Clark — a co-founder of Good Good — shoves golfer Alexis Miestowski to the ground as she reaches for the driver. As she is on the ground, he leans over and tells her in a menacing voice, “Do not touch my new driver.”
“That approval should never have happened,” Brewer wrote. “Mistakes were made, and we are taking the matter very seriously.”
Some consumers said the apology didn’t go far enough, urging Callaway to also take steps such as making donations to the Ladies Professional Golf Association and to domestic violence organizations.
Amid this pressure, Callaway announced on Thursday that it has ended its partnership with Good Good and will donate $1 million to organizations that work to prevent violence against women.
“These actions do not undo the harm caused or excuse our role in it,” the company said in a statement. “We sincerely apologize to everyone who was hurt, disappointed or offended by this incident.”
Also on Thursday, the PGA Tour said it had “been informed of Good Good Golf’s decision to step away as sponsor of the event in Austin, Texas, this fall.”
It added, “We agree with their decision to use this time to focus on their organization and the work ahead.”
Good Good Golf was launched as a YouTube channel in 2020 and is now among the largest content creators in the sport, featuring eight men and four women competing in golf and various challenges. It has made-for-TV shows, apparel and other merchandise.
Good Good co-founder Clark posted an eight-minute video this week in which he called the company’s video for Callaway “the worst ad known to man” and said that it is “not what we stand for.”
“I do not support DV (domestic violence) or abuse or any of that of any kind,” he said.
Another Good Good co-founder, Matt Kendrick, told the Wall Street Journal earlier this week that the company plans to donate proceeds from the campaign to an organization that supports women.
contributed to this report.
