TaylorMade Asks: How Far Will You Go to Fix Your Golf Swing?

Some golfers feel driven to improve their skills. Others are “Beyond Driven,” spending extra time on the links and odd hours at home perfecting their form through practice, practice, practice.

TaylorMade puts such zeal on display in fresh ads from Zambezi and Bullitt director Anderson Wright.

As you’d expect, Tour stars Dustin Johnson, Marisa Fassi, Rory McIlroy and Tiger Woods, among others, put in some special effort to hone their games, as we learn in the spot below:

That’s not a golf ball, Dustin! Ah well, keep chipping away, you’ll get the hang of it.

“We all have little anecdotes about doing things that may seem strange to non-golfers. If you’re a golfer, you totally get it,” Zambezi associate creative director Cody Witt tells Muse. “We wanted to make a spot that was human and approachable, that would strike a chord with golfers of every level. We wanted golfers to see the spot and relate to some of the scenes from their own personal experiences with the sport.”

This next commercial spotlights TaylorMade’s SIM2 clubs. It shows a dude ironing out kinks and slicing up tired clichés in the process:

Hey, windbreaker guy: If you wanna gab all day, hit the broadcast booth!

During that particular shoot, owing to Covid protocols, “no one could touch the grips of any of the clubs but the actors who were using them, and we had gloved PAs handling the golf balls,” says Zambezi creative director Jeff Siegel. “It was all very strange, but it worked. Probably because if you have to conduct a socially distanced production, you’d be hard pressed to find a better location than a golf course.”

As for viewers’ big take-away, “they should think this is a brand that truly understands them, that supports them—a brand that cares about their improvement as much as they do,” says Witt. “Also, it’s a nice reminder to golf fans that we have the best Tour roster in the sport.”

The work makes an interesting contrast with Callaway’s over-the-top Big Bertha ads from last fall, which featured a support group for slicers led by cut-up Kevin Nealon.

Appearing in “A Different Kind of Drive”
Dustin Johnson
Maria Fassi
Rory McIlroy
Tommy Fleetwood
Matt Wolff
Colin Morikawa
Tiger Woods

CREDITS

Client: TaylorMade
Agency: Zambezi
CEO: Jean Freeman 
Chief Creative Officer: Gavin Lester
Creative Director: Jeff Siegel
Associate Creative Director: Cody Witt
Associate Creative Director: Jamie Kiersted
Head of Content: Alex Cohn
Director of Integrated Production: Andrew Gage
Senior Producer: Sabrina Hoverkamp
Producer: Michael Harding
Group Account Director: Gordon Gray
Account Director: Matthew Wells
Account Supervisor: Carly Ayres
Senior Project Manager: Lauren Northcott
Chief Strategy Officer: Jill Burgeson 
Strategy Director: Eric Tepe
Brand Strategist: Allison Newell

Production Creds:
Production: Bullitt
Director: Anderson Wright
Director of Photography: Matthew Ballard
Executive Producer: Jennifer Sprunger
Line Producer: Alejandro De Leon

Post Production: FIN Studios    
Editor: Ian Gibson
Associate Editor: Adam Bonsib
Assistant Editor: Kayleb Lee
Colorist: Ian Gibson
Mixer: Kevin Feller
VFX Artist: Tom Hall 
Executive Producer Post Production: Katrina Nahikian
Post Producer: Camille Orgel
Music: Mophonics Music
Creative Director: Stephan Altman
Composer: Casey Gibson
Head of Production: Shelley Altman
Executive Producer :  Colette Huemer

“Expect More Better” Credits 
Client: TaylorMade
Agency: Zambezi
CEO: Jean Freeman 
Chief Creative Officer: Gavin Lester
Creative Director: Jeff Siegel
Senior Copywriter: David Satterfield
Senior Art Director: Tracey Chan
Design Director: Norman Brown
Designer: Shelby Norman
Head of Content: Alex Cohn
Director of Integrated Production: Andrew Gage
Senior Producer: Sabrina Hoverkamp
Producer: Michael Harding
Digital Producer: Matt Valdepena
Group Account Director: Gordon Gray
Account Director: Matthew Wells
Account Supervisor: Carly Ayres
Senior Project Manager: Lauren Northcott
Chief Strategy Officer: Jill Burgeson 
Strategy Director: Eric Tepe
Brand Strategist: Allison Newell

Production Creds:
Production: Alpen Pictures
Director: Brendan Malloy
Director of Photography: Sean Stiegemeier
Executive Producer: Christian Heuer
Line Producer: Sally Hanson
 
Post Production: FIN Studios    
Sr Editor: Ling Ly
Assistant Editor: Kayleb Lee
Colorist: Brandon Chavez
Mixer: Kevin Feller
Post Production: Brian Grigsby
VFX Artist: Tom Hall 
Executive Producer Post Production: Katrina Nahikian
Music: Asche & Spencer
Creative Director: Thad Spencer
Composer: Richard Werbowenko
Head of Production: Matt Locher