How Nike Revives a Fallen Sports Star

Lance Armstrong said that the day that his doping caught up to him was a “a $75 million day,” because he lost the support of lucrative sponsors like Nike. But Nike never bailed on Tiger Woods, and now the golfer figures prominently in a new campaign.

This ad came out earlier this week and became an immediate YouTube hit. Right now, it’s closing in on seven million views:

Can Armstrong ever get his sponsors back? Nike CEO Phil Knight won’t rule it out, but that’s a lot different than saying he’ll bring him back.

As the WSJ points out, there’s a substantial difference between Woods’s off-the-course cheating and Armstrong’s cheating, so it’s hard to see the sports giant ever coming back again. Especially when Nike based entire ad campaigns on Armstrong’s innocence.