PUMA’s BeatBot Ad is the Future of Fast

Wearable tech that tracks your performance is nothing new. But this new robot from Puma is made for the track. The BeatBot is a nifty little robot that races runners, pushing them to run even faster, kind of like the rabbit guy in long distance races who leads the pack and burns out after two laps, but way cooler.

A group of MIT engineering graduate students (who else?) created the self-driving, track-racing, line-hugging gadget to outpace runners and push them towards PRs. The BeatBot has nine infrared sensors that keep it right on the line of the track, and the number of wheel revolutions tell it how fast/far it’s going (pretty sure those are called mph, but idk). The fancy robot also has LED lights so runners can see it in their peripherals. Last, but certainly not least, the bad boy has GoPro cameras in the front and back so runners can watch how ugly their face is when they run: slack jaw on point!

Agency J. Walter Thompson created the ad to show exactly how fast the little bugger is. The ad also features the fastest man in the world, Usain Bolt, whose final Olympic Games is this summer in Rio Di Janiero. Puma’s global director of marketing and brand management Adam Petrick will tell you that the robot is a commitment to Puma’s mission of “Forever Fast.” What he won’t tell you is that unless you’re a pro runner, you can’t afford it. Better stick to racing cheetahs like NFL stars Chris Johnson and Devin Hester, because cheetahs are free (?).