How We Got Here with Chris Kohler How Nazi Brothers Changed Sports Marketing Forever
Apr 20, 2026
Cohost / Interview Partner, a conversational partner who guides the discussion, explores the Dassler brothers' split that created Adidas and Puma. Short scenes cover Nazi-era ties and wartime tensions. The conversation traces how their rivalry birthed athlete deals, product innovation, TV-driven marketing stunts, and cultural crossover moments like Run DMC and Pele.
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How A Family Fallout Created Adidas And Puma
- Adolf and Rudolf Dassler split their family shoe business and founded Adidas and Puma after personal fallout and fights over who conscripted whom during WWII.
- The brothers kept fighting commercially for decades, turning a hometown rivalry into global brand warfare that reshaped sports marketing.
1936 Olympics Invented Visible Shoe Branding
- Adidas first used visible brand identifiers on shoes at the 1936 Berlin Olympics by adding white leather stripes so spectators could spot their shoes from the stands.
- Adolf Dassler personally persuaded Jesse Owens to wear their spikes, giving the brand instant global credibility despite the Nazi-hosted Games.
A Town Split By Shoe Brands Cemented Loyalty
- After the 1946 split, Adidas used three stripes while Puma used a chunkier form stripe and the town of Herzogenerach divided along factory loyalties.
- Workforces and everyday life split by brand, reinforcing identity and local marketing almost like tribal affiliation.
