GBH wins a Design Week award for Mar Mostro

We're really pleased to announce that we've added another Design Week award to our already hugely bowed shelf! This time it's for the Mar Mostro boat livery and brand which we created for PUMA and its entry into the 2011-12 Volvo Ocean race. Taking first prize in the 'Brand Campaigns' category, the judges describe it as "Surprising and unabashed madness" adding that "PUMA does it yet again, but this time even more so".

The project itself represents 18 months worth of work beginning with the design of the boat livery which is based on it's namesake 'Mar Mostro' meaning sea monster. The design illustrates a giant red sea squid wrapping itself around the boat, while the huge PUMA cat depicted on the sail is transformed into a raging sea beast, the two monsters battling with each other on the waves becoming a metaphor for the gruelling nine month race itself. 

The distinctive theme and graphics have been carried through and applied to a brain-aching array of applications from the huge to the small, including in port and in store graphics (one of which sees a giant 3D squid springing out from behind the PUMA store) to on-line, advertising and marketing materials.

But even more ambitious brand enhancing concepts saw GBH work with product designers to create a range of Mar Mostro inspired shoes, apparel and accessories. In addition is the children's range based around an original character named Marmo. As well as creating a number of cute products for Marmo, GBH were lucky enough to create a story book intended to educate kids about environmental issues, a theme now very much at the heart of the PUMA mission.

All in all a huge undertaking and a wonderful example of an how an integrated brand campaign can make a big idea even bigger. Congratulations to all involved, not least our good friends at PUMA and the PUMA Ocean Racing team. 

Further Lnks

Read more about GBH’s collaboration with Tapestry ‘here’.

You can follow Puma’s progress in the race LIVE ‘here’.

Learn more about the Volvo Ocean Race ‘here’.

Follow Puma Mar Mostro from its on-board updates ‘here’.