PUMA, the brand well-known for combining social activity and filmmaking, is presenting films, created for the World Peace Festival 2011 in Berlin (August 20-27). The seven videos shot by international filmmakers, both celebrated and emerging, are revolving around the same idea—‘peace starts with me’ and were created under the PUMA.Peace program, launched by the brand to promote nonviolent attitudes across the globe.

Last fall, PUMA.Creative and Channel 4 and BRITDOC Foundation launched a set of six international programmes and awards aimed at supporting talented filmmakers, who create their works to spread the word about environmental issues, global conflict and social injustice. At the Durban International Film Festival (July 21–31), on July 25, five finalists for 2011 PUMA.Creative Impact Award were announced—they were selected from over 70 entries sent over starting January based on the budget of the film, social impact it has made around the globe, influencing politics and businessmen who can foster positive change, and a range of other facts.

Last week, Old Spice launched a spinoff of its hilarious ‘Be Like a Man, Man’ campaign, introducing a new spokeshunk, 50-something Fabio, who came to replace the hilarious Old Spice Guy, Isaiah Mustafa for a short period, while he is busy in Hollywood. Procter& Gamble stated that the previous, much-loved character will return, but the audience didn’t expect that it’ll happen so soon (yet, he was battling with the newcomer online on Twitter since the launch of the new phase).

PUMA, one of the most socially-conscious brands in the apparel industry,  is kicking off the second season of its charitable Project Pink, aimed at fighting breast cancer in the USA. During the previous year of the program, which was started last summer, the brand raised over $60,000 donation to the Breast Cancer Research and Education Fund at Magee-Womens Foundation. Now, through a series of sport-related events, new line of sport gear and activity to raise more money for a new organization battling breast cancer (to be named here), the brand continues its program with the help of Project Pink spokeswomen, female soccer athletes (Amy Rodriguez, Leslie Osborne and Tasha Kai among others) and PUMA Women’s Soccer Ambassador Julie Foudy, who teamed up with PUMA in late June.

A new investigative report from Greenpeace, called ‘Dirty Laundry’ features the problem of toxic water pollution resulting from the release of hazardous chemicals by the textile industry in China. Greenpeace accused the Chinese conglomerate supplying Nike, Adidas, Lacoste and other leading brands in discharging hormone-disrupting chemicals and other toxins into the country’s major water systems. Questions about corporate responsibility for the firms they do business with were raised up. 

On June 29, PUMA Volvo Ocean Racing powered by Berg Propulsion introduced Laird Hamilton, big wave surfer and father of modern stand-up paddleboarding, as the honorary 12th crew member of the PUMA Ocean Racing team. PUMA and Hamilton unite to search for the world’s biggest, ride-able waves and to launch a line of innovative stand-up paddleboards. In addition, PUMA revealed a new youth ocean preservation campaign and presented a mascot, educator and honorary 13th crew member, Marmo.

Each year in June, the Côte d’Azur becomes the place with an overwhelming concentration of ‘lions’ (not animals, but beastly amazing advertising pieces) thanks to the Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity. This year’s event, which was taking place June 19–25, saw “thought-leaders and experts in all forms of communications and creative thinking come together to inspire, debate and entertain” and revealed the best advertising projects from all around the globe.