Adidas & Puma Bury The…Shoehorn.

Yesterday was a big day for the footballing shoe industry. Two titans of the industry with a long and acrimonious history came together to shake hands for the first time in sixty years, and in turn give us another reason to tell the fascinating story.

Many probably know by now that adidas and Puma were once the Dassler company, founded by the Dassler brothers, and the two offshoots were the products of what can only be considered the most profitable sibling falling out in history.

According to the increasingly reliable Wikipedia, little brother Adolf and Rudolf had some differences during World War II – both were Nazi party members – with Rudolf believing that Adi had spread a rumor that he was a member of the SS. So after the war Adolf went off and begun the three striped adidas – Adi Dassler to Adidas – while brother Rudolf took care of forming Puma. And once they split, despite founding both factories in the same city, Herzogenaurach, they never spoke again.

But yesterday, during the under-marketed International Peace Day, the employees of both companies came together to shake hands and play a friendly. Cupcakes and unicorns and butterflies abound.

Of course they’ll be back in the board rooms today plotting maniacally ways to torpedo the other, but for now it’s all good – particularly when you’ve got the walking red car Mr. Mark van Bommel doing advertisements for world peace. But next time you go into a store and have to pick between adidas and Puma, remember that you’re not choosing shoes, you’re choosing sides.

	Soccer Forums	Team/International Results

Category: World Football

Tags: adidas, Germany, international peace day, mark van bommel, Puma, World Football

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