[MyGolfSpy]

Guess they got the buzz they needed from the F-Bomb ad...so now it looks ok to pull it.

Your thoughts?

Here is the ad by the way....pretty lame f-bomb if you ask me. (F-Bomb is at very end of video)

[JBones]

Really lame.

[GolfSpy T]

JBones, on 13 January 2012 - 09:49 AM, said:

Really lame.

It's how the world works now...not just the golf industry. A company puts something out there...people complain...retractions and or apologies follow. But yes...really lame.

[Will Par]

This is an interesting ad campaign all based on nothing more than a quirky name, Rocketballz. No mention of technology, just a campaign to sell extra distance, which is the holy grail in golf. No explanation or verification for the extra distance, just a string of staff pros saying "Wow". It's almost as if TM is saying "Why bother with any new technological explanations, let's just say it's longer." And they couldn't advertise the RBZ driver as being longer without implying it's better than their top R11 line. So they do the ad for the 3-wood, while they have a full line of woods and irons with the RBZ name. Interesting. All hype and no substance. Yet now, everyone in the world of golf is now familiar with the term Rocketballz. And everyone is going to associate that name with extra distance... for as long as TM markets a line of clubs with that name.

[GolfSpy Tim]

huh... that wasn't much of a "bomb"...

[GolfSpy Matt]

Call it hype if you will but I've been fielding at LEAST 2-3 calls/in person inquiries PER DAY that go like this: "When are those...uh...rocketballz coming out? You got them rocketballz yet?"

Any guesses how many inquiries I've gotten about the RAZR Fit, Cleveland Classic, etc PUT TOGETHER? Here's a hint: it's less than 1.

[GolfSpy T]

GolfSpy Matt, on 14 January 2012 - 08:51 AM, said:

Call it hype if you will but I've been fielding at LEAST 2-3 calls/in person inquiries PER DAY that go like this: "When are those...uh...rocketballz coming out? You got them rocketballz yet?"

Any guesses how many inquiries I've gotten about the RAZR Fit, Cleveland Classic, etc PUT TOGETHER? Here's a hint: it's less than 1.

The RocketBallz is possibly the most brilliantly marketed product in the history of golf. We'll all find out soon enough if it actually performs as advertised, but for 90% of the golfers out there it won't actually matter. Sadder still, many will look at the Adams F12 on the rack next to it and assume that Adams is borrowing technology from TaylorMade.

I don't mean to suggest the TaylorMade doesn't make a product that's as good as anybody else's. 90% off the stuff we see is basically the same, but TaylorMade's marketing department right now is so far ahead of the curve...they could turn "The Hammer" into a million plus seller...and they probably wouldn't have to paint it white to do it.

[GolfSpy Matt]

GolfSpy T, on 14 January 2012 - 07:57 AM, said:

The RocketBallz is possibly the most brilliantly marketed product in the history of golf. We'll all find out soon enough if it actually performs as advertised, but for 90% of the golfers out there it won't actually matter. Sadder still, many will look at the Adams F12 on the rack next to it and assume that Adams is borrowing technology from TaylorMade.

This is the genius, and the evil, of it all. I commented regarding the YES! putters that whenever I see a white club I think "TM rip off" even though I know that TM did not do it first. You are 100% right about people thinking the same thing about the velocity slot. Kind of sad that it's not a question of "who made it first" but "who publicized it best".

[Tha Living Legend]

The f-bomb isn't that big of a deal. Taylormade has once again borrowed an idea from another company.

Nike's player has been dropping f-bombs for 15 years. Welcome to the party TMAG.

[apprenti23]

GolfSpy Matt, on 14 January 2012 - 07:51 AM, said:

Call it hype if you will but I've been fielding at LEAST 2-3 calls/in person inquiries PER DAY that go like this: "When are those...uh...rocketballz coming out? You got them rocketballz yet?"

Any guesses how many inquiries I've gotten about the RAZR Fit, Cleveland Classic, etc PUT TOGETHER? Here's a hint: it's less than 1.

Where do you work now Matt?

[GolfSpy Matt]

apprenti23, on 16 January 2012 - 03:30 PM, said:

Where do you work now Matt?

I DID (past tense as of Friday) work for a big box golf retailer. Starting tomorrow I will be a GolfTEC Certified Personal Coach.

[RoverRick]

I played yesterday afternoon with two older gentlemen. Both of them had a bag full of TM equipment. One guy had three TM drivers, two of them white. They played from the forward tees. On the second hole they teed off 70 yards in front of me. So I teed off, put my driver in the bag, messed around then sat in the cart while they teed off because I did not want to distract them. From 70 yards away, I saw those white driver heads. Brilliant! If they would have turned on a neon Taylormade sign on every tee box it would not have been better advertising than those white heads.

I believe that is the true reason TM went to the white driver. It shows up on TV better. It shows up on the course better. I think that Cobra made the first white one with a white shaft for Ian Poulter. Someone from TM saw this and TM jumped on it. Two guys in my regular group play with white TM drivers, but it does not show up or is not as noticable as it is from a distance. I have never even held one so I do not know what it looks like at address but from a distance it catches your attention.

I mentioned that to them and on three different occassions after that they brought up TM's advertising campaigns. No mention of this RBZ ad per se, but TM being the number one driver on tour was a big deal to these guys. They both were talking about getting this year's new driver when it came out. One guy said, "You know, they pay those pros $600 per month to play these TM drivers." By the way, neither of them could hit the ball 200 yards. It was not until the 15th hole that they out drove me and they had a hundred yard head start.

On the 5th hole, from 150 yards away I saw that he pulled out a TM 3 wood. Truely brilliant is all I can say.