One day, one goal? PUMA, corporate philanthropy and the cultural politics of brand ‘Africa’1

Abstract

This essay addresses lifestyle sport brand PUMA and its recent activist endeavours with respect to ‘Africa’. Charting a path different from those of transaction-based philanthropic affairs such as (Product)RED, PUMA, the author suggests, has deployed a transformation-based strategy organized around messages of peace and social justice in which supporters are charged with affecting change themselves in concrete interactions rather than impersonally or from a distance. Likewise, the author discusses the role of Cameroonian footballer Samuel Eto'o and his location to PUMA's mediated efforts with respect to PUMA's brand footprint on the continent. The essay concludes by noting that while such efforts are a step in the right direction, the story is necessarily a work-in-progress.

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