Buick - Caught in the Tiger Trap

Buick's latest US hidden camera campaign, Tiger Trap, has had an unfortunate side effect - one of its winners of their $42,000 SUV has found out that his new ride has come with one helluva catch.

Sun Sentinel explains the Tiger Flap.

As cameras secretly rolled from deep within the palmetto bushes, Mike Freeman launched a 7-iron shot into the air as Tiger Woods, the world’s best golfer, stood nearby, suppressing a smirk that indicated something funny was afoot.

Minutes later, the stunned amateur’s day became even more surreal when Woods handed the Longwood salesman the keys to a $42,000 sports-utility vehicle for knocking his shot on the green. It was a classic sports moment that already is being celebrated in a series of new TV commercials.

Upon further review, the replays come with a price.

Ten weeks after he all-but-randomly participated in a hidden-camera gag that Buick has turned into a national marketing campaign called “Tiger Trap,” Freeman finally realizes what he stepped into while filming the television commercial, and it wasn’t just the bucket seats of his new Buick.

The reigning Orlando City Amateur champion has been banned from tournament play for a year for accepting a prize that voided his amateur standing in the eyes of the rule-makers at the U.S. Golf Association. The twist is, like his participation in the filming in the first place, the violation was unwitting and unintentional, too.

"There was no intent to try to win a car," Freeman said. "All we did is play golf. It wasn't sponsored, it wasn't advertised. It's all after the fact."

The sexy car he won and the resulting commercial can be viewed at buick.com/tigertrap, and here on adland, naturally.