It has been brought to our attention that several unauthorized, sexually suggestive advertisements portraying the PUMA brand have been released over the Internet. We are appalled that images like these would be created and distributed under the PUMA name. As a brand, we seek to take a unique perspective toward our advertising in an effort to challenge the boundaries of our industry; however we would never consider using these tactics. We are in the process of researching the circumstances and reserve any legal steps available.
In February it was revealed that Jenna Jameson will soon become a public figure on behalf of Pony. Jenna Jameson is one of the stars of the Vivid adult entertainment juggernaut. In the next few days she will begin appearing on a line of condoms with the Vivid name. She also recently signed a new deal with Vivid in which will have more control over her career by producing in addition to her on screen performances. By making these moves into mainstream media Jenna seems on her way to becoming the primary figure behind mainstreaming porn. In April her reality television show Jenna Jameson's Stripper Ball will premiere on the Playboy Channel. By working with media properties such as Vanity Fair, Dennis Rodman, and Inside Edition her public profile and subsequent ability to sell products will be enhanced.
Notice the spunk on the girl's leg.
Given the increasing presence of the adult entertainment industry in mainstream culture it would not be surprising to see Puma advertising their wares in such a fashion. The parody of a fashion ad currently causing all the stress among Puma folks such as Peter Kim, who responded to Felix Salmon's query with the above quote expressing the appalled Puma "official" response to the overt sexual concourse presented in the fake ad.
The music industry this week condemned the launch of two recording systems that will let people copy between 30 and 100 hours of music onto a single disc. The launches, from electronics giants Sony and Philips, are being seen as a potential pirates' charter.
"It's a no-brainer. Anything which lets people pirate more music like this has to be very bad news for the music industry," says a spokesman for Britain's record industry trade association, the BPI.
The launches come as the global music industry suffers its worst downturn since the CD format was introduced. Free online downloading and disc copying have been widely blamed for the slump in sales.
Sony's system will use the ultra-efficient data compression system used in MiniDiscs, to squeeze 30 hours of MP3 music onto a single blank CD. The discs will play on a new generation of personal stereos, which cost less than £100. Philips's system uses a computer DVD recorder to save at least 100 hours of MP3 music on a blank DVD, which will play on a new portable DVD player.
Business model
Why Sony should want to launch a recorder that might make piracy easier may seem surprising, as its Sony Music division makes and sells CDs. While Sony Music did not want to comment on its sister company's launch, Mike Tsurumi, a president of Sony Consumer Electronics in Berlin, insists that the move makes sense. "The music companies need to change their business model," he says.
Tsurumi's colleague Simon Mori expects people to move towards downloading and paying for music from official music websites. One such site, dotmusic.com, was launched last week by telecoms company BT and 30 record firms, though at £1.49 per track, buying music this way is hardly cheap.
The International Federation for the Phonographic Industry, which is relentless in its pursuit of music pirates, has not yet said how it will react to the new recorders.
