PUMA Run needed a bold, future-forward creative strategy to unify their brand identity and elevate their global presence. We ignited a new creative strategy and lead into direction through campaign development, athlete storytelling, and cutting-edge AI and CGI content, crafting a refreshed playbook to set a new creative standard for the brand.
Project Overview
To propel PUMA Run into the future, we developed a bold, future-forward global creative strategy and creative direction that redefined how the brand communicates performance and innovation for every day and race day. Our work spanned brand campaign development, athlete storytelling, and leveraging AI and CGI to jump start performing content that modernized PUMA’s visual and messaging standards. By writing new creative playbooks and guidelines, we established a unified, scalable foundation that reset the creative thinking for PUMA Run sparking consistency, impact, and cultural relevance across global markets.
PUMA’s biggest global campaign to date—rolling out across 30+ markets globally, setting an unprecedented milestone for the brand. The Go Wild hero film captures the rush of the runner’s high, bringing out the passion for sport to life like never before.
Ampersand Studio’s contribution to this campaign was assisting in the pre-creative direction and strategy for PUMA Run acting as an in-house creative director while there through agency pitches, through final selection, landing on adam&eveDDB. From location recommendation to initial new creative strategy and direction for PUMA Run through campaign production. The creative concept and production for the ‘Go Wild’ campaign for PUMA Run was executed by PUMA’s internal creative services team and adam&eveDDB.
AdEdge, Sports Business Journal, AdWeek, Creative Salon, Sports Illustrated
THE CHALLENGE
PUMA Run needed a refreshed and unified global creative direction to elevate their brand presence and drive deeper engagement across all consumer touchpoints. While PUMA had a strong foothold in performance footwear and apparel, the creative execution across campaigns, athlete storytelling, and product visuals lacked a consistent, high-impact approach. The challenge was to redefine and modernize PUMA’s creative strategy, ensuring it reflected innovation, performance, and cultural relevance across global markets.
Key Challenges:
1. Lack of a cohesive, future-forward global creative direction for PUMA Run.
2. Inconsistent brand storytelling across campaigns, athlete integrations, and product visuals.
3. A need to explore cutting-edge content creation methods, such as AI and CGI, to future-proof brand assets.
4. Outdated and non-existent creative playbooks and guidelines that no longer aligned with PUMA’s direction for growth and innovation.
THE APPROACH
To redefine PUMA Run’s global creative strategy, we built a comprehensive framework that aligned brand campaigns, athlete storytelling, and product narratives under a bold new vision. The approach focused on elevating PUMA’s identity as a leader in performance and innovation, balancing technical excellence with cultural storytelling.
Key Initiatives
-
- Brand Campaign Development: Established high-energy, globally scalable campaigns that positioned PUMA as a disruptive force in the performance space.
- Athlete Integrations: Created dynamic, story-driven athlete content that connected product innovation with real-world training and competition. From the Paris Summer Olympics 2024 to FW26 development.
- AI & CGI Innovation: Leveraged emerging technologies to enhance content creation, enabling scalable, hyper-realistic product and campaign visuals. The Wall Street Journal Mention
- Creative Playbooks & Guidelines: Wrote a new global creative standard, providing clear direction for brand consistency across regions and touchpoints.
- Resetting the Creative Standard: Designed a new visual and messaging framework that ensured all creative output aligned with PUMA’s performance-driven ethos.
THE SOLUTION
Through a strategic blend of innovation, storytelling, and next-generation creative execution, we successfully set a new global standard for PUMA Run. The updated creative direction provided a unified and impactful foundation for future campaigns, product launches, and athlete storytelling. By integrating AI, CGI, and fresh visual strategies, we modernized PUMA’s creative approach, ensuring adaptability in an evolving digital landscape.
This transformation solidified PUMA’s brand presence, strengthened consumer engagement, and positioned PUMA Run as a forward-thinking, performance-driven category in the global market.
THE IMPACT
Our work set a new creative benchmark for PUMA Run, delivering a cohesive and globally scalable brand direction that elevated storytelling, athlete integration, and product communication. By implementing AI and CGI-driven content outside of the usual visual production, we helped future-proof PUMA’s creative execution, enabling greater flexibility and efficiency across campaigns. The newly written creative playbooks for internal teams and external partners with clear guidelines, ensuring consistency and high-quality output across all consumer touchpoints. This transformation not only strengthened PUMA’s position in the performance market but also drives deeper engagement, reinforcing the brand’s commitment to innovation and athletic excellence.
