Woods needs to act before public forgets real Tiger

Unless Tiger Woods gets back on the golf course soon, there's a danger the general public are going to forget who he really is - one of the greatest golfers in the history of the game - and simply treat him as a laughing-stock. That's the gloomy view of American PR experts, backed by media research, as yet another alleged mistress emerges - 39-year-old porn actress Joslyn James (above left).

The research, from the TV ratings company Nielsen, shows that Woods's appearances in commercials on American television - swinging a gold club (or a razor) or sipping from an energy drink - have dropped like a stone since his car crash on November 27.

As the first mistresses emerged, so his various sponsors appear to have pulled the plug. It's not they have dropped him - although that is becoming a real risk - it's just that each of the 15 or so commercials he was regularly appearing in has been held back from prime-time screening until the dust settles. But when will that happen?

Nielsen says that not a single advert featuring the golfer has been shown on prime-time TV in the US since Sunday, November 29 - two days after the fateful car crash outside his Florida home. The last prime-time sighting of the Tiger was in a 30-second Gillette ad screened that Sunday. Other ads that have vanished are for Accenture, Electronic Arts and the PGA.

Drinks giant Pepsi has also announced that it is pulling a Woods-branded product - Gatorade Tiger Focus. But Pepsi are adamant that the decision was made "months ago" to drop the product.

What will be worrying Woods and his advisers now is that his value as a celebrity endorser of products has plummeted as more alleged mistresses have come forward. This is crucial to Woods's wealth because a large portion of his annual income - about $110m - comes from commercial endorsements and tournament appearances.

Before the scandal broke, Woods was sixth in the the Davie-Brown Index, which is used by marketers and advertising agencies to gauge the ability of personalities to influence shoppers. He is now languishing in 24th place between actress Julia Roberts and former US Secretary of State Colin Powell.

Interestingly, when he was at number six he was tucked in behind Oprah Winfrey. As The First Post reported yesterday, many PR people feel Oprah could be the answer to his problems. "Get on the Oprah sofa, get it all out, and get back to your golf, " was the advice of one New York PR expert we spoke to.

Other PR men are not convinced anyone can help him now - and that only a return to playing magical golf will save him. "He is beyond PR redemption," said Howard Rubinstein, an expert in crisis management. "He is in public relations hell right now. There is not a PR man on Earth who can restore his image."

Rubinstein went on: "The best he can hope for is to re-establish his image as a golfing champion. If he wins consistently and doesn't sink to four or five, he'll be applauded again - but just for golf. There will still be plenty of snickering behind his back."

Meanwhile, Joslyn James (real name: Veronica Siwik-Daniels) becomes the second porn actress (after Holly Sampson) to be named as a mistress of Tiger Woods. According to the sports website Deadspin.com, James, who has starred in several explicit adult films, boasted of their relationship to a friend and considered herself Woods's "full-time mistress". ·