Puma steers clear of sports to celebrate millennial passions

The 'Puma Suede Gully' is neither an extension nor a departure from any earlier campaigns. It is Puma's first culture play

Abandoning the traditional 30-second TV commercial, shoe brand Puma is reaching out to consumers with an anthem in a long-format video that amalgamates art, dance and music. The music video brings eight rappers, seven street artists and 36 hip-hop dancers together; all hailing from four corners of India. The objective is to showcase artists from the undiscovered places and weave a story of their talent, passion and unflinching attitude.
 
Puma has largely catered to sports in its earlier campaigns. Hence, the “Puma Suede Gully” is neither an extension nor is it a departure from any of the earlier campaigns. It is Puma’s first culture play.
 
Over the last few years, Indian youth have taken to adopting modern forms of self-expression and this has led to the rise of artists who are underdogs, revolutionary and have defied the norm. They communicate their stories through various art forms.
 
“Suede Gully is the expression of these real and raw stories from artists across the country and brings together the diverse, the real, the talented — the artist who hustles. This collaboration gives a single, creative stage for self-expression to these artists, who come from ‘gullies’ across the country,” says Debosmita Majumder, head of marketing, Puma India.
 
The campaign has been well-received. Over the past few weeks, it has clocked 4.8 million views on Facebook and 4.6 million views on its YouTube channel.
 

Majumder says that as a brand, Puma has always been inclined to unconventional methods to reach out to its consumers. “We never do TVC-led advertising. We believe in creating exciting experiences for consumers. We partner with the right influencers who represent the true spirit of our brand to generate interest in it.”
 
The campaign has been created by DDB Mudra.
 
“A music video is the most compelling form of content. We wanted to bring music, dance, street art, fashion and Puma Suede’s counterculture together in one form of content; for people to take notice. Puma Suede Gully served the exact purpose,” says Vishnu Srivatsav, creative head, DDB Mudra South.
 
The biggest challenge for any marketer is capturing the consumer’s attention span. So, in a world where 30- and 45-second ads are the norm, what are the opportunities and challenges that the long format of video advertising entails?
 
The challenge is to create content that is compelling enough. “Puma Suede Gully’s engagement matrix is a proof that people are willing to watch if the content is interesting. One of the biggest opportunities here is that the power of the content is not restricted to seconds,” says Srivatsav.
 

Puma entered India in 2006 and currently sells from 350-plus stores, including over 60 company-owned stores. The latest campaign is targeted at the sports brand’s core audience that comprises millennials and Generation Z consumers.
 

According to Majumder, Puma’s target audiences are defined by their use of digital communications in new and creative ways. “They do not just use the medium to consume media or to communicate with one another, but also to create and to build brands and businesses. We call this group the Generation Hustle, and have a lot of respect and admiration for the way they are moving culture forward at an unprecedented pace,” says Majumder.