Puma Launches ‘Only See Great’ Campaign, Settles Litigation With USOPC
Friday, April 16, 2021 at 10:06PM By Barry Janoff
April 16, 2021: It’s been a busy week for Puma.
The sports footwear, apparel and gear company launched a global multi-media campaign, “Only See Great,” featuring such brand spokespersons as Neymar Jr., Winnie Harlow, Usain Bolt, Cara Delevingne, Lamelo Ball, Skylar Diggins-Smith, Kyle Kuzma, Lewis Hamilton and Rickie Fowler.
The company also resolved its litigation with the U.S. Olympic and Paralymic Committee, which dates back to March 2020 and centered around Puma’s planned use of such tag lines as “Puma Tokyo 2021,” “Puma Beijing 2022” and “Puma Tokyo 2022.”
Puma said the “Only See Great” campaign “will lay the foundation for multiple product launches over the course of the year, including key performance collections worn by athletes and federations at this summer’s Euro 2021, Copa America and the Olympic Games.”
The campaign, which currently also includes Antoine Griezmann, Pep Guardiola, Karsten Warholm, Mondo Duplantis and Virat Kohli, is anchored by a 60-second spot that will add more participants and evolve on digital and social media.
Puma said its roster of spokespersons would “offer their personal perspectives on striving for greatness during extraordinary times in a series of media interviews and content on Puma’s digital channels.
The litigation between Puma and the USOCP centered around proposed Puma tag lines and the USOPC’s contention that they would mislead people into thinking Puma was an official partner with Team USA and/or the International Olympic Committee.
In May 2020, Puma’s application to register “Puma Tokyo 2021” (which occurred in March 2020) was turned down by the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
According to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office examiner overseeing the case, ”In this case, the use of the wording Tokyo 2021 contained in the proposed mark would be clearly seen by the general public as referring to the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games that have been rescheduled to 2021 because of the COVID-19 pandemic, and thus to the widely–known organization that comprises the Olympic Games (i.e. the United States Olympic Committee).
"The fact that the applicant's goods include a variety of athletic and sports bags, clothing and sports and athletic equipment, etc, serves to enhance and increase the likelihood that there would be a false connection with the Olympics, and thus the United States Olympic Committee.
"In addition, no connection with the United States Olympic Committee has been established in the present record," according to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
In February 2021, the USOPC filed a lawsuit against Puma regarding its on-going intention to use the marks on a line of apparel, bags and athletic equipment.
“Puma has declared war on Games marks, tried to register them for itself, and petitioned to cancel Games marks registrations.,” the USPOC wrote in a complaint.
“Puma’s declaration of war on the games marks is a thinly veiled attempt to benefit from association with the Olympics without becoming a ‘The Olympic Partner’ (TOP) Sponsor.”
This past Thursday (April 15), a joint statement was issued by the USOPC and Puma:
“The United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee and Puma SE and its affiliated companies (“PUMA”) jointly announced today that the parties have reached an amicable settlement in their trademark-related suit (regarding use of {OLYMPIC HOST CITY} + {YEAR} language).
"With the Olympic and Paralympic Games Tokyo 2020 fast approaching and planning well underway for future Games, the USOPC is glad to have resolved this matter so that it can focus its efforts on ensuring successful Games for Team USA athletes and official partners,” Christopher McCleary, USOPC’s General Counsel, said via the organization.
"Puma is pleased to have resolved this matter with the USOPC,“ said a spokesperson for Puma.
Puma said its “Only See Great” campaign was “inspired by cultural icon, entrepreneur and philanthropist Shawn “Jay-Z” Carter, who said: ‘I only see great. I don’t see good. I don’t see compromise. We should always strive to make something great, something that will last.’”
“Jay originally shared these personal thoughts on greatness in one of our very first discussions around product design,” Adam Petrick, Puma global director of brand and marketing, said via the company.
“His quote so perfectly represented the message that we as a brand wanted to convey in this unique year of sporting events and cultural moments, such as the Olympic Games in Tokyo. I think the message is about filtering out anything less than great, looking within and seeing something that no one else can see.”
The lead spot features glamorous closeups of Neymar Jr., Harlow, Bolt, Delevingne, Ball, Diggins-Smith, Kuzma and the others, played out to an energetic rap beat.
A voiceover offers, “Are you ready? It’s time. Time to move forward. To see your sights on the future.
“Can you see it? Can you feel it? It’s right there. Right in front of you. Breathe in. Breathe out. Open your eyes. Visualize. What do you see? Your vision of greatness.
“Own it. Face it. The truth is, if ever there was a time to push forward, to trust tomorrow, to embrace your vision . . . It’s now. When you believe it, you’ll see it. It’s as simple as that. Only see great.”
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