Did the Fenty x Puma Brand Collaboration make sense?
My take: it works because Rihanna did more than lend Puma her name and show up at the photoshoot.
In September 2023, Rihanna returned to Puma as creative director for Fenty x Puma, with a multi-year partnership and a series of new product launches
Brands are like people. A celebrity can come to your party, have their photograph taken, say all the right things and leave. Everyone has a good time, but the party is still yours.
But then, she can help choose the music, the food and the guest list. Then the party feels different.
Rihanna did not just stand beside a Puma shoe for the campaign. The Avanti combined Puma’s King football boot with its Easy Rider running-shoe heritage, seen through her sensibility.
That is the difference between an endorsement and a real collaboration.
A celebrity endorsement can bring attention. A real collaboration leaves fingerprints on the product.
That is what makes this partnership more credible than a standard campaign. The brand did not simply borrow Rihanna’s visibility. It gave her a role in shaping consumer purchase
If you can replace the celebrity’s name and nothing changes, it was never really a collaboration.
By: Jiggy George
