Champions of change?
By now most of you will have heard and opined on the Tiger Woods saga. Yes, he did cheat on his wife. Yes, he has tried to keep a low public profile about it. Yes, his sponsors initially stood by him, albeit lukewarmly. But no, the story has not gone away. No, his sponsors have not now stuck by him. And no, he won't come out unscathed.
By the time you read this, who knows what else might have transpired, but that is not the purpose of this blog. Instead, I would like to debate if ambassadors do a cause good. Are they valuable attention getters? I've blogged about this before and those of you who read this blog regularly know that I am split. On the one hand I welcome the extra attention but on the other hand, from experience, I know that goodwill ambassadors are often/usually very available for the first three days of their commitment. Then 'whoosh' they vanish. Their agent will always reply they are too busy or away (on some Antarctic research mission no doubt!).
There is another issue: the dark closet. Few people don't have one, especially those whose life has been dedicated to a steep climb, often by all and any means. How can one be sure that there is clarity? One cannot and so one gambles.
My opinion is that ambassadors should be vetted to only include those who want to give genuine time to the cause. Yes, Brad Pitt seems to be genuinely committed to New Orleans. No, Jackie Chan does not seem committed to AIDS. Sorry to be so blunt, but I really do want to increase attention to causes, not to the celebrity. If this is their way of cleansing their sins, stick to your day job. If, on the other hand, you want to really make a difference, join in.
One closing note. I won't name him, but we recently had an interesting connection with one of the Gillette champions. She or he (actually they're all guys) is willing to speak for a razor blade but was not interested in supporting a cause — a major international cause — that was attached to a treaty/convention/accord that was signed in his city; shame.
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