PUMA’s befitting birthday tribute for Virat Kohli creates nation-wide ripples

A befitting birthday gift to the cricketing legend of this era! That’s what PUMA did to honour the one and only Virat Kohli. The world’s leading sports brand undertook a series of unique and first-of-its-kind campaigns in order to celebrate the iconic cricketer’s birthday. 

PUMA brought together thousands of Virat Kohli fans, in a unique and exciting birthday tribute, by creating a massive mural of the legendary cricketer by using 5000 red cricket balls. The mural was set up at Mumbai’s Carter Road Amphitheater.

What more the ardent Kohli fans could ask for? They thronged the Amphitheater and started creating Kohli’s face in a marathon nine-hour activity.  They followed the structural direction executed by artist Gurseet Singh to create the 20ft by 20ft mural.

The spectacular activity is bound to remain etched in the annals of history as the perfect ode to the complete batsman of our times.

Adding more zing to the celebration was the presence of Virat Kohli’s childhood coach Rajkumar Sharma. The coach was equally elated to find the kind of adulation and love the fans from different parts of India were showering upon the iconic cricketer. 

The day-long celebration was attended by legendary sports personalities, such as the inspirational 94-year-old sprinter Bhagwani Devi, footballer Glan Martins and Anwar Ali, cricketer Anuj Rawat, swimmer Srihari, and Bollywood actor Ishaan Khatter, a Kohli fan.

Virat Kohli-themed stores

As part of the campaign, PUMA activated its key stores across India with Virat Kohli-themed engagements for fans to show their adulation for the cricketer.

Fans expressed their love for their hearthrob by getting tattoos of Virat Kohli, a haircut with VK initials or a unique face paint in his honour to celebrate his birthday.

PUMA arranged tattoo artists, hair stylists, and face painters at select PUMA stores in different parts of the country. 

The winners received the chance to meet Kohli in person and Gift Voucher from the brand worth INR 20,000. Contest winners included Chirag for the best haircut, PS Rathor for hand painting, and Syam Sajeev for Toothpick Art.

PUMA’s Virat birthday celebration week was widely noted for its refreshingly unique approach and remarkable fan engagement. The campaign, with its uniqueness in execution, was well-received by Kohli fans from all over the country. In fact, they were on cloud-nine as they could make a powerful connection with their favourite cricketer in unforgettable ways.