BENGALURU – Lending voice to a new generation of creators, global sportswear brand PUMA has pioneered the largest movement in the country’s street culture with its latest collaboration campaign – Suede Gully. A brain child of Puma and DDB Mudra, this collaboration portrays the street culture of India, giving a single, creative stage for self-expression to a talented breed of artists, musicians and dancers. Raw and compelling, Suede Gully comes alive in a video that captures the essence of Indian streets in the most authentic manner. The collaboration also gives the iconic Puma Suede, which has been a cultural street and hip-hop symbol for decades, a fresh and local perspective.
India has a very strong and unique ‘Gully’ (street) culture, which while having evolved over the years, still retains its rawness. Our streets carry, shape and communicate opinions and over time, have grown to become a mode of self-expression for many. DDB Mudra recognized this resilient underground street culture bubbling under the surface and decided to amp it up and bring it to light. Thus was born Suede Gully.
The agency, along with the brand used Puma Suede as a medium to bring together the talent of the street, and make it a symbol for authentic self-expression. Keeping Suede at the center of it all they’ve brought together the three major street art forms – Graffiti, Rap and Dance into one major creative collaboration. Ideated and executed by the Bengaluru office of DDB Mudra, the campaign trains the spotlight on 8 rappers, 7 street artists and 36 hip-hop dancers, all hailing from 4 different corners of the country – Mumbai, Delhi, Shillong and Madurai. The idea was to bring out the artists from the untainted part of the city and stitch together their talent, passion and attitude into one addictive music video.
The ‘Suede Gully’ street anthem, composed by Sneha Khanwalkar and directed by Sasha Rainbow, features four different languages as well – Hindi, Tamil, Punjabi and Khasi. The video, that traverses the realm of street culture in the country and alternates between the artists who are transforming the streets, fuses into a single rap collaboration featuring the entire crew. Shot to represent the Indian streets in their real element, the Suede Gully anthem is full of character – a graffiti-ed local train in Mumbai, a sprayed staircase in Shillong, the vibrant roads of Madurai, and the street walls of Delhi.
As innovators of street culture, Puma is taking forward the legacy of Suede to establish it as the representation of hip-hop street culture in India. The dance crews are led by Mukti Mohan and features the Bengaluru-based Black Ice Crew, Shillong’s Unity One Crew, Mumbai’s Beast Mode Crew and Delhi’s Higher Vision Crew. Creating a canvas of self-expression through art are India’s most intriguing street artists, Shilo Shiv Suleman, Baadal Nanjundaswamy, Indian Artists crew and Anpu Varkey, whose works transform streets into brilliant exhibits. Representing Indian rap and hip-hop are a bunch of talented rappers – Bombay’s Divine, Delhi’s Prabhdeep, Shillong’s rap crew Khasi Bloodz and Madurai’s Madurai Souljour.
A legacy built by icons like Frazier Clyde and Tommie Smith, Puma Suede has been immortalized by athletes and hip hop artists alike. Donned by hustlers and legends alike, this shoe is simple, classic and iconic. Available in a range of colours, the Puma Suede is all you need to rule the street.
Quoting on the campaign, Debosmita Majumder, Head of Marketing, Puma (India) said, “Today’s youth have taken to modern forms of self-expression, giving rise to a new generation of creators. They use the streets as a canvas to express themselves through various forms of art, music and dance. For the first time in India, PUMA is bringing these diverse art forms on a single platform – Suede Gully. Suede Gully is our attempt to bring to the forefront the true essence of Indian street culture.”
Quoting on the work, Vishnu Srivatsav, Creative Head, DDB Mudra South said, “Puma’s Suede has always been a voice of street culture and Suede Gully looks to bring to life the incredibly unique and diverse culture and expression of our very own gullies. It’s art, its music, its culture and it’s fashion. So many people, folks who live for their art, from different corners of the country, bringing their awesome talents to collaborate on this platform, that’s really special.”
In main photos are Debosmita Majumder, Head of Marketing, Puma (India) and Vishnu Srivatsav, Creative Head, DDB Mudra South.
Agency Credits
Brand: Puma (India)
Agency: DDB Mudra Group
President and Managing Partner, DDB Mudra South: Ranji Cherian
Account Management: Pritika Gupta, Yash Singh Dabi, Atria Ghosh
Media: Bharath Gaddam, Sagar Govindraju
Creative: Brijesh Jacob, Vishnu Srivatsav, Sooraj Pillai, Jonah Costa, Sukanya Subramaniyan, Sajni Masturlal
