Nike owns running. But, thanks to Grey, Puma owns dance.

The Puma Dance Dictionary, created last summer by Grey London so that kids could ‘talk’ to one another using dance moves, has been used to retell a literary masterpiece.

The Nunnery Scene from Shakespeare’s Hamlet is now in a language Gen Y understands.

Freestylers, Storyboard P, King Charles, Pac Man and Worm worked with L.A. choreographer, Super Dave, to encrypt each word from the world’s most famous soliloquy into unique dance moves.

And a whole new literary genre has emerged. Could dance have the power to transcend class and history? Give kids today access to classic creativity? University College Londonʼs Professor of English Literature, John Mullan, thinks so. “I donʼt think a dictionary of dance reduces the power of the written or spoken word on the contrary, I think it heightens the power of words. It could be a way of getting young people who are less naturally drawn to words and their complexities or less confident with language to really appreciate the power of words.”

A Classic breaks through the barriers around Gen Y that block out advertising. Realistically, given that it’s an ad campaign, that probably matters most.

Credits:

Creative agency:                   Grey London

Chief creative officer:           Nils Leonard

Written & art directed by:  Matt Newman & Nils Leonard

Creative director:                  Andy Lockley

Creative team:                      Matt Newman & Nils Leonard

Designers:                          Ryan Connolly & Chris Chapman

Agency producers:                   Rebecca Pople & Dee Butler

Creative producer:                  Maxine Hose

Digital producers:                  Andreas Zaremba, Sarah Brennan & Peter Jacobs

Production Company:            SomeSuch&Co

Director:                           Daniel Wolfe

Director of Photography:      Andre Chematov

Production company producer:       Lee Groombridge.

Editors:                            Matt Newman.

After effects:                      Russ Tams @ Hogarth

Post production:                    Hogarth / Framestore

Sound design:                       Liam Conwell at Hogarth

Music:                             Composed.

Music Supervisors :                Dom Bastyra @ Platinum Rye & David Laub @ First and Last

Choreographer :                     Super Dave

Puma Dance Dictionary presents ‘A Classic’ from Grey London on Vimeo.