Congratulations. You Went Viral.

Posted on September 6, 2026

There’s an old saying in the marketing world that there’s no such thing as bad publicity.

Good Good Golf and Callaway might beg to differ.

If you have no idea what Good Good Golf is, or what happened recently between the popular golf brand and Callaway, you’re not alone. I didn’t know anything about Good Good until an ad they produced went viral for all the wrong reasons.

The video was intended as a parody of the 2026 horror movie Obsession. In the video, Good Good co-founder Garrett Clark shoves fellow Good Good creator and former competitive golfer Alexis Miestowski to the ground after she reaches for his golf club . Apparently, this was supposed to be funny. It wasn’t.

My first thought was: How in the world did this get approved?

This wasn’t one guy with an iPhone making a stupid decision and hitting “post.” Somebody had the idea and then people planned it, filmed and edited it. Good Good’s marketing team saw it and approved it. Callaway’s marketing team saw it and approved it. Nobody stopped it. Interestingly, the CEOs of both companies have said they never saw the ad before it was released.

Were there women involved in those decisions? I haven’t seen that reported so I don’t know.

What I do know is that because my firm works with SafeSpace, our region’s only state-certified domestic violence center, we’re particularly sensitive about this issue. And it was easy to see that this was a spectacular failure of judgment.

The public reaction made that abundantly clear. The video was taken down, apologies came quickly and then the fallout began.

Callaway ended its relationship with Good Good. Dick’s Sporting Goods and Golf Galaxy pulled Good Good merchandise. The company withdrew as title sponsor of a PGA Tour event. A planned television series bearing its name was canceled. Members of its marketing team lost their jobs. All because of one ad.

Callaway, meanwhile, acknowledged its own role in approving the ad and pledged $1 million to organizations working to prevent violence against women.

To their credit, both companies did more than issue the obligatory corporate apology. They acknowledged their failures and took meaningful action. That matters.

But even the best crisis response can’t erase the decision that created the crisis in the first place. Somewhere inside two successful organizations, surrounded by people whose job it is to understand audiences and protect brands, this seemed like a good idea.

Until the rest of the world saw it.

I don’t believe the lesson is that brands should stop taking risks. Some of the best advertising is bold, irreverent and provocative. But there’s a difference between taking a creative risk and abandoning good judgment.

Which brings me back to that old saying. There’s no such thing as bad publicity?

After everything that followed one ad that was supposed to make people laugh, I think Good Good and Callaway might have something to say about that.

Congratulations. You went viral.

What do you think about the ad and the fallout? Email me at stacy@fireflyforyou.com.

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