Puma shatters sports stereotypes by disbanding the 'extra' label

Puma has rolled out a campaign ‘let there be sport’ featuring Virat Kohli, MC Mary Kom and Sunil Chhetri to champion the cause of prioritising sport and fitness in the country.  

 

Abhishek Ganguly, managing director, Puma India and Southeast Asia, said, “As a nation, we have witnessed a fundamental change in the adoption of sports culture with far more running communities, gyms and people taking up different sports. However, we have just scratched the surface and have miles to go. The Puma - Nielsen Sport, study proves that there are still significant areas for development. The study indicates the growing need to create awareness and inspiration among adults and kids to play more sport as well as illustrates the myriad ways in which sport adds value to life. There is a direct correlation between sports participation in kids and improved academic performance and positive emotional well-being. A strong sports culture brings out the best in people and is critical for the development of a country.”

 

Ganguly added, “Puma’s new platform, Let There Be Sport, will be our priority this year. It will promote and encourage sport and fitness as a life skill. We will heavily invest in creating awareness towards sports adoption at a mass level, build more moments of inspiration, continue to support grassroot athletes and work closely with key stakeholders across sectors to integrate sports and fitness into the main curriculum. In five years, we are confident that a sports-focused survey will yield better insights in India.”

 

Denise Menasan, managing director, APAC and MENA, Nielsen Sports and Entertainment, said, “A study was commissioned by Puma India to help understand the views of sports in India and how sports and physical activity impacts other aspects of our life, such as emotional wellbeing, academics and employability. While there have been multiple initiatives to boost fitness-related activities, our study indicates that more needs to be done in this space. The study highlights that an increase in sports and fitness activities can help enhance overall emotional well-being amongst adults, help learn valuable life skills and increase the academic grades of kids. We hope this campaign from Puma India inspires people to become more physically active in their day-to-day activities and equips government agencies with data to frame new policies.”