PUMA City - Boston

(Even though I've chugged the swoosh kool-aid...) I think this is a pretty cool retail space. "PUMA City" is essentially a movable city made up of 24 shipping containers & holds a retail store, bar, and event space. I'll definitely have to check it out since it's right here in Boston (near the ICA). It'll be up for another 3 weeks in Boston & apparently will host some DJ battles before it moves on to South Africa.

The featured event is the Volvo Ocean Race -- a 9 month yacht race around the world. An article quotes chief mktg. officer Anthony Bertone claiming, "A lot of time people see sailing as an elite sport, but we're trying to give folks an opportunity to see that's not the case." Mmmwhat?!? I'm going to have to completely disagree w/ him -- I find sailing to be nothing but an elite sport. Ok, I'll admit: I went to prep school, and I even spent a season with the Milton Academy sailing team (!!! yeah, I know...clearly that didn't work out...)

Anyway, the project makes sense in terms of Boston sports (for a US city, sailing is somewhat popular in Boston, and there are a lot of universities in the area that have sailing teams). But I have to wonder...DJ battles? Mixing hip-hop culture w/ a rich white kids' sport? Really? I'm not saying it can't be done, but bringing sailing to the streets seems like a bit of a far-reach to me. I guess with a large enough marketing budget, perhaps dichotomous cultures can mingle. Then again, I have to remember that cultures are more fluid today, thanks to the digital world. But hey, I'll have to go see for myself!