Sports Advertising / Retro Ad of the Week: Kansas City Royals, 1985

Tuesday marked the first game of the 2014 MLB World Series. Hoping to repeat their 1985 victory, the Kansas City Royals will battle the San Francisco Giants for a chance at the Commissioner’s Trophy. In this 1985 Puma ad, equally suited to the brand itself as it was to then-Royals star George Brett, the headlines reads “Because if you’re not the predator, you’re the prey.”

 

Puma made its most recent attempt at a resurgence into sports marketing with a massive donation of multi-colored cleats to players in the 2014 World Cup. Still, the brand fell behind its larger competitors like Nike and Adidas. Will the Kansas City Royals face a similar defeat and another 29 years without a title? Only time will tell.

FUN FACT: Think you know sibling rivalry? When The Dassler Brothers Sports Shoe Company split in 1948, Adolph “Adi” Dassler went on to create  world-famous sports brand Adidas. Facing declining sales, his brother Rudolph Dassler eventually changed the name of his own athletic brand “Ruda” to, you guessed it, Puma. (Source: Fortune)

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