Puma turns to creative brand shop for global advertising

by Gordon MacMillan,, Brand Republic 19-Aug-03, 08:40

LONDON - Puma has appointed New York creative brand agency Base Design to handle its global advertising account as it attempts to turn itself into a major sports and lifestyle brand.

The company began its search earlier this year and it is understood that it looked at a number of above-the-line advertising agencies before appointing boutique Base, which has offices in New York, Brussels and Barcelona.

Base will work on advertising campaigns, brand strategy and brand design for Puma's Black Station, including Nuala, Mahanuala and Platinum ranges.

Specifically, Base is tasked with developing the first visuals for the soon-to-be-launched Mahanuala, the new activewear line from Puma. Base is also charged with rebranding and creating the advertising for Nuala, as well as developing Puma's upcoming autumn advertising and next year's spring campaigns for Platinum.

Puma's most recent work, launched last month, used photographs by renowned photographer Juergen Teller for a global print campaign for Puma trainers, which was created in-house.

Puma is the world's sixth-largest sportswear firm, but it trails global giants Nike and Adidas by a long way. The appointment of Base and the launch of Mahanuala is designed to address the gap between Puma and its bigger rivals.

The new launches mark a new stage in the comeback campaign for Puma, which lost its way in the 1980s before fighting its way back during the early 1990s under chief executive Jochen Zeitz.

Antonio Bertone, Puma director of global brand management, said: "We feel that Base is a great fit creatively for Puma because of its proven past results and understanding of our brand. We expect Base to provide a fresh perspective on some of our key collections in terms of brand design and advertising."

Some of Base's previous work includes creating the brand identity for New York's Museum of Modern Art's provisional home in Queens and for its museum store in SoHo, the redesign of perfume packaging for Yves Saint Laurent Beauty, the brand identity of the Surface hotel, the design of MTV Publishing's book on the life of Tupac Shakur, and brand identity work for Wrangler Europe.

Geoffrey Cook, Base partner and managing director, said: "We relate very well to Puma and its approach to business. We look forward to working with Puma in shaping the strategies of its different brands and to developing identity systems and advertising that effectively targets its diverse clientele."

Base was founded in 1993 and has won awards from D&AD, The Society of Publication Designers, LAUS, The Art Directors Club NY, the AIGA, and The Creative Review.

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