Puma N.A. is "set to air an edgy" TV ad that features
"blunt talk about boxing from" Oscar De La Hoya, according
to Wayne Friedman of AD AGE, who writes that the Gyro
Worldwide-produced spot will "not promote a specific product
but will serve as an image spot" for the brand. The ad is a
"toned-down version of a more aggressive effort" produced
earlier this year, in which De La Hoya "angrily compares
throwing a punch to throwing a watermelon against the wall."
Puma U.S. marketing head Amber Fredman, on the original ad:
"We don't have a problem with taking an edgier image. ...
But the spot was a little over the top." Puma "decided to
shelve" the original ad because it was "seen as too intense
for broadcast," and the company asked Gyro to "re-edit" the
ad. The revised ad includes an 8-second "tag" at the end of
the spot touting the PPV telecast of De La Hoya's September
18 welterweight title bout against Felix Trinidad, and
Fredman said that other "likely changes will include the
elimination" of the "watermelon" reference and the word
"bleed." But Friedman writes that Puma and De La Hoya are
"walking a fine line. Mr. De La Hoya has carefully crafted
a marketing image as a clean-cut athlete sometimes called
the 'golden boy.' Still, marketing analysts said he also
needs to be seen as a tough competitor" (AD AGE, 7/19).
