Puma resurrects Dassler Schuhfabrik sports brand

by Alex Donohue, Brand Republic 04-Oct-07, 15:45

LONDON - Puma is resurrecting the sports and clothing brand from which it originated, Dassler Schuhfabrik, with a global marketing push and branding by New York-based design agency Adolescent.

The clothing and footwear brand, which was founded by Rudolf Dassler in 1948 and later evolved into Puma, is to make a comeback after undergoing a global rebranding exercise by Adolescent.

The campaign, which will extend to multimedia, print, video, retail and online, will promote Dassler's launch of an Alexander van Slobbe-designed autumn/winter '07 collection, called Rebel/Rebel. This will comprise trainers, shirts, jackets, trousers and other sports clothing inspired by the original Dassler designs.

The campaign for the new range will aim to capture the essence of the original clothing and footwear range, which Dassler said reflected the "revolutionary spirit" from the 1950s onwards. It will feature sepia-tinged film footage, counter culture references, motorcycle gangs and punk rock iconography.

The rebranding has retained Dassler's original hexagonal-shaped motif, but updated it to incorporate the Puma logo, which Adolescent said would aim to reflect the brand's heritage of solid, classic design mixed with a "progressive fashion-forward vision".

Adolescent has created an online "lookbook", tradeshow materials and videos embellished with what it has described as colourful abstract graphics and edgy patterns. The promotion is geared towards attracting people who "appreciate that good things last".