Remember that really shocking circa-2003 PUMA advertisement that no one would take responsibility for? Its mystery has finally unraveled.
posted by Bryan Behrenshausen on Feb 10, 2006 - 38 comments

The Puma "French Pleasure" Campaign: Hoax From felixsalmon.com. via the AdCritic daily newsletter [Gawker AdRants got there first, however, on a tip from MemeFirst], comes a meme-hacking story straight from the Anarchist's Cookbook chapter on propaganda of the semiotic deed: the infamous Puma viral-marketing scam. It was Tim who got the official statement from the marketing geeks:

It has been brought to our attention that several unauthorized, sexually suggestive advertisements portraying the PUMA brand have been released over the Internet. We are appalled that images like these would be created and distributed under the PUMA name. As a brand, we seek to take a unique perspective toward our advertising in an effort to challenge the boundaries of our industry; however we would never consider using these tactics. We are in the process of researching the circumstances and reserve any legal steps available.

posted by hairyeyeball on Mar 14, 2003 - 70 comments