US News

Stunned ad bigs wringing hands over Tiger

Two of Tiger Woods’ biggest sponsors had a secret powwow yesterday to discuss their association with the scandal-scarred star.

Pepsi Co., owner of Gatorade, and Proctor & Gamble, owner of Gillette, talked about whether the embarrassing revelations of Woods’ hanky-panky violated the terms of his multimillion-dollar endorsement deals, Fox News reported.

The two companies didn’t return calls for comment.

“Every endorsement contract worth its weight in paper has a morality or conduct clause that states that the brand has the right to terminate the contract,” said Kevin Adler, president of Engage Marketing.

“These circumstances would allow a brand to activate their termination option,” Adler added, referring to revelations that Woods extramarital romances included paid escorts.

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According to Nielsen Media, the last aired commercial featuring Woods was a 30-second Gillette spot on Nov. 29 during NBC’s “Football Night in America,” two days after he crashed his SUV.

Nike, which pays Woods a reported $20 million a year, said its marketing plans with the champion “remain unchanged,” according to spokeswoman Beth Gast.

Gatorade discontinued its Tiger Focus line of drinks, and Tag Heuer removed its Woods’ ads in Australia.

Both companies said those decisions were made before Woods’ infidelities became public.