A startup called Sunday Golf, manufacturer of lightweight bags designed for short par-3 courses, has already made waves by signing a 6-year-old prodigy in the sport to a name, image and likeness deal.
Now the company has hooked Tom Brady.
No, not that Tom Brady, legendary former NFL quarterback, longtime Hertz spokesman and upcoming star of BetMGM’s first Super Bowl ad.
This other Tom Brady is a marketing executive from Southern California who started collaborating with Sunday Golf in 2023, calling sports “one of my biggest passions” both personally and professionally.
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The partnership has just dropped its first product, the Tom Brady Loma bag, to benefit the nonprofit group Youth on Course.
Any confusion between the football icon and Sunday Golf’s latest ambassador is entirely intentional. And if video snippets are to be believed, even the brand’s staff initially thought they were in league with sports royalty. (Workers’ excitement turned to confusion, with the team trying not to act too disappointed when Tom Brady, veteran of Logitech, Skullcandy, Burton Snowboards and Adidas Eyewear, showed up for a meet-and-greet instead of Tom Brady, winner of multiple Super Bowls).
“While he’s an ordinary person to many, to us he’s the GOAT—Greatest of All Toms,” according to Ronan Galvin, co-founder and CEO of Sunday Golf.
There’s a long history in advertising of using regular folks as stand-ins for their famous namesakes, and the misdirect is often worth a chuckle, depending on the execution.
Sunday Golf, a Gen Z-friendly line of bags and accessories dubbed “gear for the casual competitor,” sells through outlets like Amazon, Dick’s Sporting Goods and golf pro shops.