Good Good’s former marketing head has sued the company and its ex-CEO, alleging he was scapegoated for a controversial promo made for Callaway.
The ad was meant to promote a Callaway driver co-branded with Good Good, the creator collective whose golf videos are popular on YouTube. In the ad, one of Good Good’s cofounders, Garrett Clark, runs toward a female member of the group, Alexis Miestowski, and shoved her to the ground, saying, “Do not touch my new driver.”
Then-CEO Matt Kendrick and Clark said at the time that the ad was meant as a riff on the popular horror movie “Obsession.” The idea was that Clark had become obsessed with the golf club to the point of insanity. The ad landed with a thud as critics said it made light of domestic violence. Good Good’s top two execs, Kendrick and then-president Joe Flannery, left in the wake of the ad, and the company lost a string of partners.
Good Good took down the ad and apologized, as did Callaway. Callaway said that while the company was not involved in its production, its review process was inadequate. Both said the ad was inconsistent with their values.
In a civil suit filed in Texas, former brand and marketing VP Jeff Lefkovits says that the scene was “conceived of and approved on set,” not in the original “lighthearted parody script” he approved. He alleges that the finished ad was “embraced by Good Good’s own performers and owners and approved in writing by Callaway.” The suit says Lefkovits was falsely blamed for the ad, and alleges defamation by Good Good and Kendrick, the former CEO. It seeks more than $1 million in relief.
Neither Good Good nor Kendrick have filed a legal response to the suit. A Good Good spokesperson said the company had no comment on the suit. Kendrick didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.
The ad debacle was a striking turn of events for Good Good, which had been widely regarded as a creator-economy success story. The YouTube group, known for its high-energy golf videos, had built a string of retail partnerships and raised $45 million last year.
In the aftermath of the ad, Kendrick told Front Office Sports that Good Good’s marketing department, which Lefkovits led, was responsible for the promo and that those people had been “removed.”
Lefkovits’ suit alleges that this statement was false and defamatory, and left him unable to find work.
The suit goes on to describe the script. The suit says that the script “ended with a comedy twist in which the entire group becomes equally ‘obsessed’ with the driver and playfully competes to hold it.” The suit says the script contained no shoving scene involving Clark and Miestowski, nor any depiction of domestic violence.
Lefkovits says in the suit that he was away when filming of the ad was finished and that the shoving scene was added without his knowledge or participation. The suit alleges that Clark and Miestowski were among those who “loved” the edit and that they didn’t suggest changes.
Clark and Miestowski didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.
“Callaway approved both the concept and the final edit in writing,” the suit alleges.
The suit says that on August 25, Kendrick emailed Good Good’s marketing partners, saying he was making changes to the marketing org and blaming the team for the ad. Lefkovits was fired August 26, the suit says. Kendrick left the company on September 2.
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