When I look at my credit card, I feel like I’m not one, but two people. On one side is the signature Pele and a picture of my famous scissor cut. On the other side, an ordinary Brazilian named Edson Arantes do Nascimento and his signature…’ Pele said about the credit card presented to him by the company as a brand ambassador for Mastercard. Pele’s life is thus a ‘two sides of a card’. From a poor Brazilian boy named Edson, to the world’s most branded name, Pele.
The Pele Pact
The first companies to recognize Pele’s brand value were sports manufacturers Adidas and Puma. But they hesitated to sign a contract with Pele despite fierce competition to be the market leader. The reason is none other than: finances! A very strategic thing was done by both companies. They secretly signed a pact. ‘Both teams should not sign with Pele!’. This genius in marketing was later known as the ‘Pele Pact’.
The intelligence of the puma
As both companies followed the ‘Pele Pact’, Pele came to play in the 1970 Mexico World Cup wearing the boots of a British company called ‘Stylo’. It was the first World Cup to be broadcast on color television. The media attention that Pele is getting has stirred the hearts of the Puma company. Company representative Hans Henningsen approached Pele in top secret. Paid $25,000 to sign with Puma. Henningsen asked Pele for one more thing. Before the quarter-final kickoff against Peru, he should ask the referee for time and tie his boot laces. Pele did it. As Pele bent down to tie the laces near the halfway line, cameras around the world zoomed in on Pele’s boots – Puma! Sales of Puma’s shoes, launched under the name King Pele, increased by more than 300 percent.
Coca Cola, Pele..
In the 70s, Pele was the second most familiar brand name in Europe. First Coca Cola! But at that time, Pele could not translate his brilliance as a footballer into business. Pele signed a contract to sell coffee products under the name ‘Café Pele’ but did not make much profit.
But later on, Pele’s income skyrocketed as he became the brand ambassador of companies like Master Card, Hublot, Volkswagen, Subway, Emirates, and Santander.
Pele FC!
It is a universally accepted fact that Pele’s name will make anything related to football famous. One of the main clubs in the Caribbean island of Guyana is called Pele FC. The club was founded in 1971, the same year Pele retired. There is a club called FC Pele in Moscow, the capital of Russia. A football club in South Africa is called Pele Pele. Pele is the name of the pesticide manufactured by Bharat Rasayan Limited, New Delhi. Rest assured that they did not receive it in the name of the legendary star!
Brazilian street artist Luis Bueno has launched a series of paintings – ‘Pele – The Kisser’. Bueno was inspired by a picture of Pele kissing boxing legend Muhammad Ali after his final match for the New York Cosmos in 1977. Bueno edited Ali out of the picture. Instead Mona Lisa, Marilyn Monroe, Bob Marley, John Lennon, Salvador Dali and Bob Dylan were all painted!
English Summary: The first companies to recognize Pele’s brand value were sports manufacturers Adidas and Puma