Renault Managing Director Flavio Briatore commented: “We are pleased to welcome Puma on board as a partner of the Renault F1 Team. Their young, sporting image is a perfect match for Renault in Formula 1, and the quality of their products unsurpassed. We look forward to a successful season together.”

“I am very pleased with our new partnership with the Mild Seven Renault F1 Team,” says Martin Gänsler, Vice Chairman of PUMA AG. “With ties to Italy, England, Spain, Japan and of course France, the Mild Seven Renault F1 Team perfectly typifies the internationalism of Formula One. With a long proud history in F1, the team has the experience and know-how that it takes to thrive in grand prix racing. We consider Renault a great fit for us as, like PUMA, they nicely combine sport performance with fashion flair.”

After re-entering Formula One under the full works Renault banner in 2002, the Renault F1 Team impressed with immediate success, finishing fourth in the championship in its first year, repeating the feat in 2003, and enjoying its first victory with Fernando Alonso at the Hungarian Grand Prix this past August.

PUMA® performance racing shoes were first used by various drivers and teams in the 1970s and early 1980s. And since 1998, PUMA’s motorsport division has gradually assembled an impressive portfolio of sponsorships. In the 2004 season, PUMA will be the official supplier of racing gear in several motorsport disciplines such as Formula One, F3000, motocross, World Rally Championship, etc.

“It has been PUMA’s mission to fuse sport, lifestyle and fashion in a unique way and our partnership with Neil Barrett and the Italian National Team is a primary example of how we are doing exactly this,” said Jochen Zeitz, PUMA Chairman and CEO. “Here in Milan, we are debuting the fashion element of the collection. Later this year, we will come full circle to introduce the official kit for Euro 2004, making “Italia” the first PUMA collection to span all categories sport, lifestyle and fashion.”

“I have always pushed the blend of technical sportswear with tailoring, be it in the cross-usage of fabrications, construction or design details,” said Creative Director Neil Barrett. “This rare opportunity with PUMA enables me to apply the reverse mechanism with one of the greatest brands in the world of sport.”

Originally inspired by travel, 96 HOURS now evolves to capture movement as its inspiring force and sport as the conceptual energy of fashion. The collection by Barrett was designed to span 96 HOURS in the life of team “Italia”. Each new season will feature a different sport in order to create a fully integrated range of apparel, footwear and accessories for the modern, international, fashion-conscious man and woman.

More details about the sport and lifestyle “Italia” collections will be provided in March during the launch of the official playing kit.

“Ford Team RS have a long proud heritage in rallying and proved in 2003 that whether with star veterans or young rookies, they always challenge for rallies and for championships. We are delighted to extend the contract and to work with such a dedicated team and talented young drivers”, says Andrew McPhail, Senior Manager of PUMA Motorsport. “Supplying the rally drivers, co-drivers and support crew with suitable gear for such a wide range of terrain and climatic conditions gives us a chance to demonstrate the know-how in high-performance motorsport apparel, which we have been able to accumulate with many partners over a number of seasons.”

“As a result of the good partnership, we have decided to extend the deal with PUMA,” states Malcolm Wilson, the former rally driver behind the wheel of the Ford attack to WRC. “The World Rally Championship is one of the most demanding and challenging motorsport competitions worldwide. It is therefore crucial for our drivers and team to have high quality, functional gear, and PUMA can give us exactly that.”

The FIA World Rally Championship races in 16 countries, starting in the French Alps near Monte Carlo, turbo-charging through the snow bound forests of Sweden, over the wide countryside of Argentina, past the historic scenery of Greece’s Acropolis and ending in the dirt and dust of Australia. Millions of fans in countries all over the world watch the teams battle it out on 5 continents.

PUMA® performance racing shoes were first used by various drivers and teams in the 1970s and early 1980s. And since 1998 PUMA’s motorsport division has gradually assembled an impressive portfolio of sponsorships. Along with Ford Team RS and a WRC partnership, PUMA will in the 2004 season be the official supplier of racing gear in several motorsport disciplines such as Formula One, F 3000, motocross, etc.

The kit design also features ‘lion claw tears” on each side along the oblique muscles, alluding to Cameroon’s nickname of the ‘Indomitable Lions.’ The tears are not just for aesthetics – they feature a layer of micromesh that allows air to circulate under the garment for better ventilation. In a unique application, the PUMA jumping cat logos on the front, arms and shorts are made of a faux ‘fur’ treatment, thus continuing the lion theme. In addition to the fabric treatment, a new aggressive font has been created for the player names and numbers.

“The Cameroon team has the perfect physique for this formfitting UniQT,” said Filip Trulsson, International Marketing Manager for PUMA Football. “As a group of players the ‘Indomitable Lions’ have come to symbolize confidence, athleticism and sheer power. This new streamline design moves as one with the players to further enhance their style of play and overall performance. It’s a perfect fit.’’

The revolutionary UniQT will be on display at retail, but will not be available for purchase. A replica shirt of the kit will be available for sale in February 2004 with a limited pre-launch of the authentic kit (top half only) in PUMA Flagship Stores worldwide on January 23rd 2004.

SAUBER PETRONAS driver Giancarlo Fisichella states: “Since the right gear is an important factor in motorsport, I am more than happy to wear PUMA racewear and footwear on track. PUMA not only has extensive experience with high-perfomance motorsport wear, but also nicely combines quality and functionality with fashionable design.”

“We are delighted to extend the contract with SAUBER PETRONAS and continue the good partnership,” says Andrew McPhail, Senior Manager of PUMA Motorsport. “It is a pleasure to work with such a professional and successful team that has achieved some impressive results in its long Formula 1 history. With the new, modern wind tunnel to test the cars and Fisichella and Massa as drivers, SAUBER PETRONAS will certainly be a force to contend with this season.”

SAUBER PETRONAS is an international Formula One team, located in Hinwil, Switzerland, where Peter Sauber founded his company back in 1970. The team’s highlights were the 1-2-victory 1989 at the 24 hours of Le Mans, the back-to-back sportscar World Championship Titles 1989 and 1990 and the 4th place in the 2001 Formula One Constructors’ Championship. Amongst the successful Sauber junior drivers were Michael Schumacher and Heinz-Harald Frentzen.

PUMA performance racing shoes were first used by various drivers and teams in the 1970s and early 1980s. And since 1998 PUMA’s motorsport division has gradually assembled an impressive portfolio of sponsorships. In the 2004 season PUMA will be the official supplier of racing gear in several motorsport disciplines such as Formula One, F 3000, motocross, WRC etc.

“In 2004 Jaguar Racing started to show their claws demonstrating flashes of brilliance”, says Andrew McPhail, Senior Manager of PUMA Motorsport. “We are particularly pleased to see a driver like Mark Webber from the Australasian region achieving so much success in Formula One – helping to make the sport more global than ever. Now combining Mark Webber in his third year of Formula One, with promising rookie Christian Klien, the team will undoubtedly produce even more highlights in 2004. We are therefore delighted to extend the partnership and are proud that PUMA will be clearly visible with every pit stop Jaguar Racing make throughout the season.”

Jaguar has been involved in motorsport since it was founded by Sir William Lyons in 1922. Due to Jaguar’s long proud history, PUMA thought it appropriate to give the pit crew a shoe with a unique vintage character that takes its inspiration from the early days of motor racing. The “Rennbahn 50 UL” has an oil resistant and non-slippery rubber outsole and the “used look” leather further underlines the value and the heritage of the product.

PUMA performance racing shoes were first used by various drivers and teams in the 1970s and early 1980s. And since 1998 PUMA’s motorsport division has gradually assembled an impressive portfolio of sponsorships. In the 2004 season PUMA will be the official supplier of racing gear in several motorsport disciplines such as Formula One, F 3000, motocross, WRC etc.

Building on the excitement of the tournament, the campaign predominantly features two diehard Azzurri fans, Marco and Fabio. Titled “Forza Tifosi, Forza Azzurri – Two Sides, One Goal,” both the TV and print ads cleverly portray the passion of football from both the fan and athlete points of view, stressing the apparent interdependency and mutual respect between the two parties. As their everyday lives take similar direction the cues to their different lifestyles are evident.

The commercial opens in the morning where two crazed fans prepare for their long journey by car to the stadium to watch their national team and favorite player, Buffon, take the pitch. Buffon’s day starts similarly, but his superstar status is evident by his luxury hotel room and chauffeured limo. The TV spot conveys how their activities resemble one another as they prepare for the match where their paths eventually cross.

“Football campaigns typically feature aggressive imagery, domination and hero driven messages,” said Filip Trulsson, PUMA International Football Marketing Manager. “In our campaign, Forza Tifosi, we wanted to incorporate the fans and their aspirations for their teams and leave the audience excited about football.”

The broadcast executions will air globally with 60, 45, 30 and 20 second edits. Several 10-second spots focusing the activities and lifestyles of the two Italia fanatics will also complement the longer commercials. These 10-second shorts range from Marco and Fabio singing the national anthem, chanting Buffon’s name to the exuberant emotion of meeting a player.

Five print advertising executions will launch in April. Once again the parallel lives of player and fan are portrayed. The executions feature two separate photos, one of fans and the other of the players. The images link up with similar scenarios and are joined by a football logo with the text reading “Forza Tiffosi, Forza Azzurri.” The tagline of the print ads reads, “PUMA, proud technical sponsor of the Italian National Football Team.”

 Neil Barrett has worked closely with PUMA’s design team to combine the brand’s technical sport expertise with his fashion sensibility for a full spectrum of Italia products that spans performance sport, lifestyle and fashion. The inspiration for the new playing kit came from protective armour worn by Roman gladiators blended with Barrett’s signature “layered” garments. Various items from the jersey, short and shocks, reflect this inspiration.

“PUMA is a brand known for blending elements of sport, lifestyle and fashion and this collaboration with Neil Barrett and the Italian National Team is our strongest campaign to date where each element has been executed under one umbrella,” said Jochen Zeitz, PUMA Chairman and CEO. “In January we debuted the fashion element on the catwalk here in Milan, and now we are back to reveal the kit along with the rest of the range.”

Neil Barrett specifically designed a formal “representation suit” for the players. The team officials, both men and women, will also wear a PUMA suit designed by Barrett. A version of this will be available for consumers this autumn in PUMA’s 96 HOURS collection, which was debuted at Milan Fashion Week during Neil Barrett’s catwalk show.

To complete the Italia collection, there is a complete lifestyle range. This collection blends PUMA’s sportlifestyle positioning under the direction of Neil Barrett. Key elements of this range include the integration of embroidered badges and unique appliqués.

All PUMA Italia products will be available at retail on April 3 in PUMA Flagship Stores and select retailers.