Brothers Divided: The Astonishing Origin Story of Puma and Adidas

Two New Brands

Adolf and Rudolf Dassler were both experts of the shoe and athletic industries. They knew the ins and outs of the business, and they both had great ideas and a lot of experience, so it was only natural they decided to start up their own companies and seek solo success.

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Adi Dassler earned the athletes trust by listening to them. Lina Radke won a Gold medal wearing Adi Dassler’s shoes already in 1928 at the Olympic Games in Amsterdam. Source: adidas-group.com

Adi started Adidas, making the name from his nickname, Adi, and the first three letters of his surname. Interestingly, Rudolf did a similar thing at first. His company was originally called Ruda, taking the first two letters of his first name and surname, but was quickly changed to Puma.

Forging New Identities for Their Brands

A big part of the success of any brand, especially in industries like sportswear, is getting your brand out there and making people recognize it. Rudolf had decided to change his company name to Puma, from the Quechua word for a cougar, and gave his brand a big cat logo, conjuring up images of agility and speed.

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1957. BIRTH OF AN ICON. It’s the year when the first elements of PUMA’s logo take shape. Rudolf Dassler introduces the unmistakable sans-serif PUMA typeface along with an image logo. Source: Puma.com

Adi, meanwhile, decided on the idea of putting three stripes down the side of his shoes so that they would be instantly recognizable on the feet of athletes, even from a distance. The ‘three stripes’ also became part of the company’s logo.