In the wake of the Tiger Wood’s scandal, Nike, through agency Wieden and Kennedy, has made a controversial attempt at redemption.

The TVC, ‘Earl & Tiger’ went viral, but many have pointed out that, no matter the creative, anything involving Tiger and launched before the US Masters was a hedged bet. AdAge reports in the first 48 hours it was viewed 2.2 million times online, was commented on 6,700 times and saw 40 parodies spring up – drawing another 200,000 views.

The advertisement is a simple headshot of Tiger being spoken to by his deceased father. The audio was taken from a 2004 documentary, Tiger: The Authorized DVD Collection. Questions of taste were quick to arise, with the more cynical pointing out that much distaste could be washed away “when he won [the US Masters].” The tournament concluded this morning with Woods at fifth.

Canadian Marketing spoke to a variety of adland figures to gauge industry opinion. Todd Mackie, associate creative director at DDB Canada, was one of those and expressed an opinion indicative of general industry sentiment:

“I wasnt sure how I felt about it at first. I definitely had positive feelings. Felt like a smart move for Nike and Tiger. They didnt actually make any promises. Theres nothing to argue with. That was smart of them. There was no grand statement or “Hes going to change for sure.” They let you make your own call. Nike is building Tigers brand first, which will affect theirs. Tiger made their golf brand. There were a lot of pros who wouldnt touch a Nike golf club because ‘They just do shoes. But he brought them authenticity.”

With the advertisement out there and Tiger’s first pro-tournament since the scandal wrapped up, the real analysis can begin: will Nike see their golf brand buoyed, particularly in their womens line?