Puma Straddles 2 Worlds in Gyro Ads

Puma mixes the appeal of leisurely island life with the hard-core training regimen of the Jamaican Olympic team in nine spots by Gyro breaking this month.

The Philadelphia shop’s effort, which debuts March 15, is Puma’s first TV work in the U.S., a company rep said. Each ad opens with a quiet look at everyday Jamaica. In one, an old man plods down a dirt road with a donkey; in another, girls play catch.

Into each commercial bolts a member of the Jamaican track team, urging, “Stick, stick, stick!” Once the baton is passed, a pair of brightly colored Pumas appear on the feet of an unlikely “runner”; in one case, a man in his bathrobe.

Puma’s strategy is to forge an identity as part performance shoe, part fashion accessory.