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Washington - Procter and Gamble's Gillette brand will end its endorsement deal with golfer Tiger Woods when their current contract expires on December 31, a Gillette spokesperson said on Thursday.
The men's grooming company is phasing out its Gillette Champions marketing campaign in the first quarter of 2011, spokesperson Michael Norton said.
"The program was created in 2007 and like any brand, we refresh our marketing efforts to ensure they continue to be relevant for our consumers," said Norton, who confirmed that the company's deal with French footballer Thierry Henry will also expire on December 31.
"The athletes' contracts ran their full term," Norton said.
The parting with Gillette comes as Woods completes his first professional season without a victory.
Once the consummate corporate pitchman, Woods saw his reputation tarnished by a sex scandal that ended his marriage in 2010. He took five months away from the game and struggled all season as he sought to get his personal life back on track and to solidify changes he was making to his game.
Woods lost deals with PepsiCo's Gatorade, US telecom giant AT and T and consultancy firm Accenture, although other corporate sponsors such as Nike and EA Sports stood by him.
Woods, Henry and Swiss tennis great Roger Federer launched Gillette's global Champions campaign in 2007.
In December 2008, British advertising industry weekly Campaign panned a Champions campaign TV commercial featuring the trio as its "top turkey" of the year.
"The Gillette ad is an own goal, a double fault and a bunker shot rolled into one," the magazine's editor Claire Beale said.
