General Motors CEO Rick Wagoner said in congressional testimony last week that the company was going to be pulling back its ad spending.
That brings the Detroit auto giant to end its nine-year relationship with Tiger Woods, in which Woods endorsed products and played in the GM-sponsored Buick Open tournament.
The auto maker released a statement saying "Both GM and Woods agreed to a mutual and amicable separation that included a desire for more personal time for the 14-time major winner who is expecting his second child in late winter as well as the search for budget efficiencies during a difficult economy for General Motors."
Bottom line: GM is re-evaluating all its ad spending. It'll spend much less—bad news for TV networks and sports programming in particular—and differently, directly more ad dollars online. GM insists discussions had started earlier in the year, but it seems like more than just a coincidence that just as GM is slammed for overspending (i.e. on those private jets) it's very publicly dropping its high-paid spokesperson.
Get ready, this is just one of many cutbacks that's going to hit the ad industry.
- Read more from Darren Rovell: GM And Tiger: A Bad Endorsement Deal From Very Start
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