Good Good Golf is under growing scrutiny after a widely criticized online video advertisement triggered accusations that the brand leaned into sexist messaging.
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.
Crisis communications specialist Patrick Riccards said in an email that the uproar reflects a familiar problem: brands making content through an overly limited lens and failing to consider how it might land with a broader audience.
Riccards added that the early apologies from both Good Good and Callaway fell short because neither company fully “owned” the misstep or showed a clear understanding of how the campaign went wrong.
Good Good did not immediately reply to a request for comment.
“Mistakes were made”
Callaway CEO Chip Brewer issued an apology on Aug. 25, explaining that Good Good Golf created the commercial and that Callaway ultimately signed off on it.
The 60-second spot was designed to promote a new Callaway driver made in collaboration with Good Good. In the ad, Good Good co-founder Garrett Clark pushes golfer Alexis Miestowski to the ground as she reaches for the club. While she remains on the floor, Clark bends over her and says in a threatening tone, “Do not touch my new driver.”
“That approval should never have happened,” Brewer wrote, adding that mistakes were made and that Callaway is treating the situation seriously.
For some viewers, however, the apology was not enough. Critics urged Callaway to take more meaningful action, including donations to the Ladies Professional Golf Association and organizations that support survivors of domestic violence.
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.”
Started on YouTube
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.
Alain Sherter
contributed to this report.
