You don’t have to be a basketball fan -- or even a sneaker lover -- to fall head over heels for PUMA’s latest ad.
The retail brand has stepped into uncharted territory (with domination) with a holographic activation in Chicago to celebrate the launch of Sky Dreamer, a new silhouette of PUMA Hoops, February 13.
Success lies in the powerful partnership of Whisk agency, Havas Media and Firefly’s smart digital media displays.
"We tapped Havas Media to develop innovative and disruptive media techniques for the launch of the Sky Dreamer, a key new silhouette of the PUMA Hoops product family. We wanted to reach fans in a unique way that was personalized and relevant," said Ann Unger, head of marketing communications at PUMA. "Firefly’s platform allows us to connect with our customers in a completely new and meaningful way otherwise impossible with traditional methods of advertising."
Throughout the weekend-long activation, Firefly, the street-level digital media network, outfitted its smart media displays with hologram projectors in order to display a 360-degree image of the Sky Dreamer sneaker and a PUMA-branded basketball on the roof of parked vehicles located in front of several Chicago landmarks.
Greg James, Havas Media Group’s global chief strategy officer, said: "We have to move beyond media planning and into building great media experiences for consumers and audiences.
"With this innovative technology, we’re able to deliver a great media experience to PUMA’s audience -- it’s 2020! So we’ve reimagined how to connect with consumers using location-based digital thanks to a great brand in PUMA and a great partner in Firefly."
This cutting-edge campaign was dreamt up by Whisk, whose members spotted the hologram technology at CES last year. The Holoprojector spins at a rapid 30 frames per second to create the most realistic 3D hologram experience in the market today.
Matt Wilkinson, co-founder at Whisk, told Campaign US: ‘We were inspired by the increase in innovation in the D-OOH sector and how Firefly is constantly trying to push boundaries.
"Through our work with Havas, PUMA is looking to constantly innovate their brand, so it was a perfect partnership to launch this technology with them, timed with a brand new basketball sneaker that is dropping this weekend.
"Holograms have never been used as an integration into a D-OOH channel before, so uncharted never-been-done-before PR stunt is not only delivering the Puma brand message but also celebrating the innovation in one of the fastest growing media channels."
Firefly Co-Founder and CEO Kaan Gunay added: "Whether you’re a basketball fan or not, consumers want to engage with the physical world. With PUMA’s history of world-class sporting apparel and Havas Media’s creativity and emphasis on meaningful media, we’re pushing the boundaries of advertising altogether so that our messages resonate with the audience."