HERZOGENAURACH, Germany,
Feb. 16, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Today,
Global Sports Brand PUMA, together with Illumination and Universal
Brand Development, announced a multi-season partnership with Gru's
loyal and mischievous Minions from the blockbuster Despicable
Me franchise. As PUMA's latest Creative Collaborators, the
Minions join the roster of creatives who give inspiration and lend
their unique design aesthetic to PUMA's Sportstyle product range.
For Autumn-Winter 2017, just in time for their next onscreen
adventure in Despicable Me 3, the Minions bring their
subversive sweetness to PUMA Sportstyle.
As the Minions have existed since the dawn of time, one can
expect they have extensive knowledge in the arts and design. In
fact, they celebrated and influenced such eras as the Renaissance
and the turn-of-the-century's popular-culture revolution. Since
their breakout role in Despicable Me in 2010, the Minions
have become pop-cultural icons who continue to inspire artists,
designers and global tastemakers.
For this collaborative footwear and apparel collection with PUMA
that debuts in Autumn-Winter, Minions Stuart, Carl and Kevin
rendered their playful yet fashionably luxe designs on PUMA's
sports-inspired styles. They created a new pattern and added
splashes of color, plenty of goggles, and more. PUMA's
classic silhouettes, like the PUMA Suede, get a fresh makeover in
premium tonal black upper—with custom Minions-painted graphic
insoles that are finished by a debossed collaboration logo
(featuring the PUMA No. 1 logo and the Minions' logo).
Heiko Desens, PUMA Creative
Director for Sportstyle, comments on the partnership: "We're very
excited to have partnered with the Minions for a collaborative
collection. Their mischievous and playful nature fits the PUMA DNA
to a T. Apart from their zest for life and endearing character,
they inspire us in many ways; they're extremely hardworking and
passionately creative. We welcome the Minions to the PUMA
Family."
"For the past seven years, Minions have engaged people of all
ages and cultures with their unexpected, often subversive
behavior," said Gail Harrison,
President of Marketing and Branding, Illumination Entertainment.
"For the first time, Illumination has identified three Minions with
passion for design to interrupt PUMA's highly successful creative
process. This all-new collection combines our favorite classic PUMA
styles with an unorthodox measure of bananas, mishaps and more. In
true Minion form, they fail upwards again."
"PUMA has a long-established reputation as a leading creative
force in footwear design," said Manuel
Torres Port, Executive Vice President, Worldwide Consumer
Products, Universal Brand Development. "A collaboration with
the Minions is a natural fit for PUMA, as the Minions are global
pop icons who are just as fashionable as they are timeless."
The PUMA x Minions footwear, apparel and accessories—adults
range—drops globally on PUMA.com, PUMA stores and select lifestyle
retailers like Colette and Opening Ceremony starting June 1st. The Kids' collection will be
available on PUMA.com, PUMA stores and kids' retailers.
Despicable Me 3 arrives in theaters on June 30.
Watch this space for more information on the products featured
in the collection or follow @PUMA on social. #PUMAxMinions
PUMA
PUMA is one of the world's leading Sports Brands, designing,
developing, selling and marketing footwear, apparel and
accessories. For over 65 years, PUMA has established a history of
making fast product designs for the fastest athletes on the planet.
PUMA offers performance and sport-inspired lifestyle products in
categories such as Football, Running and Training, Golf, and
Motorsports. It engages in exciting collaborations with renowned
design brands to bring innovative and fast designs to the sports
world. The PUMA Group owns the brands PUMA, Cobra Golf and Dobotex.
The company distributes its products in more than 120 countries,
employs more than 11,000 people worldwide, and is headquartered in
Herzogenaurach/Germany. For more
information, please visit http://www.puma.com.
ABOUT ILLUMINATION
Illumination, founded by Chris
Meledandri in 2007, is one of the entertainment industry's
leading producers of event-animated films. Illumination's film
franchises include two of the top-six animated films of all time,
and its iconic brands—infused with memorable and distinct
characters, global appeal and cultural relevance—are beloved all
over the world.
Illumination, which has an exclusive financing and distribution
partnership with Universal Pictures, is the creator of the hugely
successful Despicable Me franchise, which
includes Minions, the second-highest-grossing animated
film of all time, as well as the Academy Award®
-nominated Despicable Me 2 and the
upcoming Despicable Me 3, which stars Steve Carell, Kristen
Wiig and Trey Parker and
arrives in theaters in June 2017.
In all, Illumination's films, which also include the current
theatrical hit Sing, as well as 2016's
record-breaking The Secret Life of Pets—which had the
largest opening ever for an original film, animated or otherwise,
in U.S. history—have grossed more than $4
billion in worldwide box-office revenues and feature as
their creative contributors an unparalleled collection of writers,
artists, voice talent and musicians.
Additional upcoming releases are a newly imagined version
of Dr. Seuss' How The Grinch Stole Christmas, starring
Benedict Cumberbatch in the title
role of The Grinch, which is set for November 2018; The Secret Life of Pets
2 in July
2019; Minions 2 in July 2020; and Sing 2 in
December 2020.
Beyond the theater, Illumination's franchises have broadened
their reach globally, year-round, with extensions into mobile
games, consumer products and social/digital media. Reflecting the
success of the Despicable Me franchise, "Despicable Me:
Minion Rush" has become the fifth-most popular game ever, with more
than 800 million downloads, while Despicable Me: Minion Mayhem
attracts huge crowds at Universal Orlando Resort and Universal
Studios Hollywood and will soon open at several locations around
the world.
UNIVERSAL BRAND DEVELOPMENT
Universal Brand Development globally drives expansion of the
company's intellectual properties, franchises, characters and
stories through innovative physical and digital products, content,
and consumer experiences. Along with franchise brand
management, Universal Brand Development's core businesses include
Consumer Products, Games and Digital Platforms, and Live
Entertainment based on the company's extensive portfolio of
intellectual properties created by Universal Pictures, Illumination
Entertainment, DreamWorks Animation, and NBCUniversal cable and
television. Universal Brand Development is a business segment of
Universal Filmed Entertainment Group, and part of NBCUniversal, a
subsidiary of Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ: CMCSA).
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SOURCE Universal Brand Development