An American TV series about the rivalry between Adidas and Puma.

 

The rivalry between Adidas and Puma, sportswear companies founded by two brothers in a small town in Bavaria, Germany, is the focus of a television series based on family archives, according to its producers.

The series brings to the screen one of the most prominent family feuds in business history between Rudolf "Rudi" Dassler, who founded Puma in 1948, and Adolf "Adi" Dassler, who founded Adidas in 1949.

The two brothers initially co-managed the family business, founded in 1924, before falling out in the 1930s and each founding his own company after World War II.

The Dassler family approved the project, which is being managed by Hollywood production company No Fat Ego.

Screenwriter Mark Williams, who wrote the hit Netflix series "Ozark," was tapped to write the story, based on family videos and memories.

"Everyone knows the brands, but the story behind them is something we don't really know," the screenwriter told AFP on the sidelines of the Cannes Film Festival.

The series explores the brothers' conduct during World War II, a sensitive topic for both groups, which are now valued at billions of dollars.

Adi and Rudi Dassler became members of the Nazi Party in the 1930s, like most of the business elite.

Rudi fought and was arrested by the Allied forces upon his return to defeated Germany. Adi, however, "stayed home and tried to keep the business alive," according to Mark Williams.

The authorities seized the family factory and converted it into a munitions factory as part of the war effort.

Williams indicated that the series will be similar to the American series "Succession," about a family that owns a media conglomerate in the United States.