Kit launches in the soccer world are a highly anticipated event. In many ways, these shirts are an identity of the club for one season and if done right, they can be a work of art. When it’s not, a club opens itself up to ridicule and scorn not only from their own fans, but from the soccer community at large.
Puma launched the third kits for 10 of their top clubs and reaction has been rather negative to say the least. Not only is it the same template for each kit but it lacks the club crest that typically goes over someone’s heart. Instead, the club name is emblazoned across the chest in between the kit sponsor and the Puma logo while the crest is faintly shown on the entire kit.
Rewrite the rules. Introducing the 3rd kits of the FAM’ (Yes, the badges are there. All over the kits actually ⬇️) pic.twitter.com/Ot1d3b5CJ2
— PUMA Football (@pumafootball) August 18, 2021
Fans can get rather passionate about kit designs because if they’re looking to pay upwards of $100, they want to have a good looking kit. I can get behind an experimental design and even if that experiment doesn’t work out, maybe you can wear a kit ironically because it’s “so bad it’s good.” However, a company-wide launch where everyone has the same template takes away from that uniqueness that you can’t even enjoy how terrible it looks. Especially when that kit looks like a knockoff t-shirt that someone tries to sell when they don’t have the rights to sell the actual kits.
The vast majority of those on social media either downright hated it or made fun of Puma’s new kit designs. Some will love it, and I even found a couple tweets that liked them, but they seem to be a niche group.
Puma kits be like pic.twitter.com/GI17dddvcb
— Football Ramble (@FootballRamble) August 18, 2021
There has to be at least one person at Puma HQ who expressed reservations about this line of kits and was talked down and/or ignored.
If they're reading this: congratulations! You are currently the most validated person on earth.
— Alexander Abnos (@AnAbnos) August 18, 2021
https://twitter.com/lgbtqfc/status/1428051949086150657?s=20
Puma designers have way too much job security pic.twitter.com/TpEWYgmqxY
— Soccer Talk Lads Podcast (@stl_podcast) August 18, 2021
Puma's new kits are just the football version of this: pic.twitter.com/NyHjogAFjm
— Ronan Murphy (@swearimnotpaul) August 18, 2021
Puma 🗣: “Dare to be different!”
Also Puma: 10 template kits, all disappointing. pic.twitter.com/E6ExcqslgH
— Paul McGarraghy – @paulmcgarraghy.bsky.social (@PaulMcGarraghy) August 18, 2021
These new Puma 3rd kits look like something you‘d see on vacation in Turkey for €10 and negotiate down to €2.50 while the seller assures you for the 53rd time that it‘s original pic.twitter.com/GTyBltGENu
— 𝗙𝗜𝗔𝗚𝗢 (@fiago7) August 18, 2021
https://twitter.com/danwwfc11/status/1428053213073260545?s=20
This is why I love puma, probably the nicest kit we have ever had pic.twitter.com/P2V9Irdyf0
— BP (@BP9320) August 18, 2021
https://twitter.com/TheKendallBaker/status/1428055332581003269?s=20
https://twitter.com/MaxCamiIleri/status/1428046359333048320?s=20
Puma be like pic.twitter.com/4jXNvz0Ffu
— 🇭🇷 (@smuuurkio) August 18, 2021
[Photo: @pumafootball]
