In the next two months, brands will be battling it out in an attention economy fiercer than fashion week. Comprising 48 national teams, the World Cup — broadcast from the US, Canada, and Mexico — will stretch across time zones, languages and communities, serving as a lucrative cultural platform for labels to capitalize on. Hot on the heels of an international marathon circuit that saw sports incumbents from Nike to Hoka vying for campaign attention, and a historic Premier League — won by Adidas-kitted Arsenal FC for the first time in 22 years — the stakes are high, but the opportunity is promising.
Historically, brands from Urban Outfitters to Martine Rose have tapped into the World Cup, partnering with artists, musicians, and athletes to aid their branded storytelling — and, in effect, earn a return on investment. Adidas reportedly spent an approximate $67 million on its hero World Cup campaign film, Backyard Legends, released early May, counting 5.4 million TikTok views, 2.4 million Instagram likes, and 4.7 million YouTube views in its first two weeks. “We start planning for the tournament years in advance,” says Alasdhair Willis, Adidas’s chief creative officer. The brand started teeing up its World Cup way in advance. “The reaction to the Trionda [the official match ball, designed by Adidas] and home kit launches last year gave us a high level of confidence for 2026.”
Momentum in the anticipation and the afterglow matter, too, which is why brands have already shown up. Levi’s has launched international team denim capsules, with fans-focused campaigns that tap into local cues. The staggered rollout began in April, but chimes neatly with the brand’s established role as an official host for six matches (announced in 2022), which will take place in the San Francisco Bay Area Levi’s Stadium. For Mexico’s capsule collection, Levi’s involved Mexico City-born label Tony Delfino in a graphic, street culture-influenced campaign. For the US, the lookbook was shot among an American football ground and locker rooms, with Kids of Immigrants co-founders Daniel Buezo and Weleh Dennis as models. For England, this was shot as a caff-style skit with talent from London-born vintage specialist 194 Local.
“The Levi’s collections with the Mexico, England, US, and France federations are about celebrating fandom in the lead up to this global sports moment,” says Les Green, Levi’s senior director for collaborations, sports, and music partnerships. “While the product is always key — and we hope to see the collections become coveted collectibles — we want this to be a moment to delight existing fans and introduce the brand to new, forever fans.”
To this point, Kalmbach highlights Asian markets, specifically India and China, for witnessing huge gains in soccer viewership over the last decade. The Chinese Super League has invested deeply in global talent to up the ante. Famously, Hulk, at the time a 29-year-old Brazil international, was signed by Shanghai SIPG manager Sven-Goran Eriksson in a £46 million deal in 2016. Capturing Eastern audiences will be a harder win versus speaking to the wealthier and already well-acquainted markets of the West, but worthwhile.
Historically, World Cup activations were a mainstay for menswear, but recent data points to a seismic shift: soccer is no longer a “blokes-only” game. According to TikTok, 46% of global sports views in the first half of 2025 came from its female users. This stacks up with investments seen over the years. In 2022, Lioness Leah Williamson landed a deal with Gucci, while teammate Alessia Russo followed suit, fronting the SS23 Gucci x Adidas campaign. Similarly, Calvin Klein’s 2023 campaign, Calvins or Nothing, spotlit women from US former pro Alex Morgan to former Japanese midfielder Mana Iwabuchi.
The mission statement
Despite its enormous reach, the World Cup is not easy to navigate. Ticket prices are extortionate this year; the cheapest for a final ticket was more than $4,030, prompting New York Mayor, Zohran Mamdani, to lobby for affordable, $50 tickets for New Yorkers. This sensitivity around the tournament is exacerbated by economic uncertainty in North America. “As we have seen with the recent Met Gala, common sentiment from social media platforms felt alienated from these shows of wealth, as opposed to what would have been considered an aspirational lens of earlier generations,” explains Kalmbach.
To thrive in this marketplace, players must operate marketing campaigns across several touchpoints, sharpening a broad but watertight message. The unspoken rivalry between Nike (outfitting 16 countries this year) and Adidas (outfitting 22) is exemplary.
So far, Nike’s output has leant on its historically competitive sloganeering. In a pre-launch briefing, press were shown skits with ex-soccer players Zlatan Ibrahimović and Eric Cantona. In each segment, the cult figures lean into their playful personality quirks: Ibrahimović plays up to his self-deification — he famously referred to himself as “God” in past interviews — while Cantona displays the still-spirited feistiness that made him an icon. Both embrace their roles as borderline arrogant hypemen, geeing viewers up with a winner’s mentality. The upcoming talents to feature in Nike’s 12-week campaign, include Kylian Mbappé, Ronaldinho, Francesco Totti, Cristiano Ronaldo, rapper Central Cee, and even Kim Kardashian (who VP of brand marketing Helena Thornton describes as the “ultimate soccer mom”).
Alternatively, Adidas’s Backyard Legends film — starring Timothée Chalamet, Trinity Rodman, Lionel Messi, Bellingham, Bad Bunny, David Beckham, and a cast of street-footballing kids — takes a different tack. “Backyard Legends is a powerful articulation of our mission to disarm negative pressure in sport,” says Willis. “It reminds every athlete of the pure joy and freedom they felt when they played without expectations, echoing our foundational message of ‘You Got This’.”
Within these storytelling hero moments, both Nike and Adidas are heavily reliant on nostalgia. At the former, there is a recalling of the Y2K campaign series with Cantona, titled Joga Bonito, while Adidas leans into the myriad Beckham films, such as Impossible Field.
While younger audiences might not be familiar with the references, this reflective storytelling still carries weight, Corser says. “For Gen Zs who connect with sports less out of inherited loyalty — team affinity being passed down by their parents — and more with the sociocultural opportunities it affords them, nostalgia needs to be slightly fabricated, leaning into anemoia [nostalgia for a time or a place one has never known] rather than genuine memories,” she says. “Adidas has been smart with this, choosing a snapshot evocation of the Y2K nostalgia Gen Z are partial to, coded in a way that doesn’t require having been there.”
Similarly, Nike stands by its blend of contemporary appeal and retro nods. “We balance nostalgia and innovation by creating a Nike soccer universe that infuses both today’s athletes and youth culture voices with iconic stories from our heritage in the sport,” Thornton says. “Our job is to tell stories that reflect the principles and values that have built Nike soccer since day one, while applying it in new creative mediums and marketing strategies that are in line with the world we live in today.”
The goal is ultimately to leverage romantic concepts, whether it’s heroism, courage, legacy and resilience, or alternatively, nuanced locality and national pride. Burberry’s recent A Good Sport campaign is a case in point, continuing the brand’s laser focus on Britishness, as well as soccer’s more international appeal. Talent choices — Lioness Williamson, South Korean soccer player Son Heung-Min, and Lucy Punch, the lead in hyper-British sitcom Amandaland, among others — reflect this. “A Good Sport celebrates soccer culture through a distinctly British lens, from the atmosphere in the stands to local playing fields and the rituals surrounding the game,” says Burberry chief marketing officer Jonathan Kiman. “We wanted to capture the humor, energy and atmosphere surrounding the game in a way that feels authentically British while still resonating globally.”
Always-on soccer
To successfully balance these big cinematic campaign moments, brands must consider digital cutdowns and IRL translations of the message to match Gen Z and millennial engagement online, as well as their need for culturally rich moments.
“With 85% of fans using TikTok as a second screen during live events, and fans 42% more likely to tune in to live matches after watching sports content on TikTok, the platform is helping to grow fandom and drive audiences back to the live experience,” says Kristina Karassoulis, head of luxury at TikTok UK. Brands therefore have an opportunity to attract attention across a cultural arc of team kits, fashion, and music, leaning into real-time reactions and creator-led storytelling during the competition. “The World Cup conversation is already taking shape on TikTok, months before kick-off,” confirms Karassoulis, noting that #FifaWorldCup views in the UK have grown by more than 3,000% in the past two months, while searches for “England World Cup kit” are up more than 2,300%.
In the physical realm, Corser and Stylus team have been especially intrigued by “fan fests”, the festival-style ‘sportstainment’ experiences with a broader menu of entertainment opportunities — be it fine dining, retail, or live music. The rise in brand watch parties is a case in point, as are the string of pub-style lock-ins that have dominated the activations piggy-backing sporting events this past few years. For the women’s Euros last summer, Urban Outfitters took over London pub the Old Nun’s Head, enlisting musician Romy to play for guests. Similarly, for the 2024 Euros, Adidas partnered with East London community radio NTS and global sneaker and streetwear retailer, Size?, for a takeover of an old-school, North London “boozer”, complete with a live screening, DJ sets, the collection launch, and branded beer matts. Brands and retailers entering North America should riff on ideas like these, adjusting the formats to suit the cultural settings.
If that rings alarm bells for brands concerned about this year’s time zone issues — many matches will air in the dead of the night in Europe, for example — fear not. It’s a case of adapting to the game in question, alternating between digital and physical. “Meet fans where they are,” says Thomas. “Think ‘sunrise activations’ or high-end breakfast experiences, rather than a late-night bar vibe. A [luxury brand] watch party might feel forced in the middle of the night, so the focus should be on digital-first content that’s ready for the morning-after commute.”
Glocalization
Part of this attuned approach requires a shift toward a hyper-local — and simultaneously global — strategy. Adidas’s Willis concurs. “While reaching people is important, it’s key to have cultural relevance, which could be a Stan Smith-curated dinner for Paris Fashion Week, our partnership with Someone Somewhere [a B-Corp social enterprise employing rural artisans] for our Mexico third jersey, or the program of World Cup activity we have planned for those in Brooklyn,” he says. “The key for us isn’t about choosing between local or global; it’s about blending the two.” To this point, as well as these examples, Adidas undertook a huge activation in March in World Cup host city LA, dubbed the Roadblock Party. For this, the away kits were launched amid a make-believe traffic stand still (very LA), with rapper Baby Keem and producer Kaytranada performing, as well as ambassador Gabbriette, Kendall Jenner, Barry Keoghan and more all showcasing the looks in action.
Kalmbach also hammers home the value of ‘glocality’, calling out German beer gardens and US soccer bars among prime venues, while noting that South American and Asian customs remain underdeveloped as marketing opportunities. “Catering to each audience by communicating through local cultural customs shows consumers that these brands are dialed into the audience they are in conversation with,” he confirms. Certainly, third or even fourth spaces — where real-world experiences bring online interests into the offline space — are important. As are the subtle cues used in marketing collateral. Nike’s video campaign for the Dutch national team, for example, homes in on the diasporic elements of identity, notably Surinamese culture, with legendary former player Edgar Davids appearing amid a traditional drumming performance.
For brands seeking big spenders, this glocal appeal makes the World Cup especially inviting to wealthy jet-set consumers and luxury hospitality fans, too. “The World Cup is likely to attract 1.2 million visitors who could spend roughly $6 billion in travel-related expenses,” says Euromonitor’s head of footwear and apparel Marguerite Le Rolland. In fact, sports events are a strong driver of travel spend because visitors are passionate about the event they’re attending. The tourism dollars are spread across a variety of beneficiaries, from the hotels to the shopping. “Many visitors will also extend their stays beyond the event to experience the destination, further fueling tourism spend in host countries,” Le Rolland adds.
One thing is clear: those who can strike a balance of appearing worldly, while embedded and integrated into the most international sport of all time, will thrive. If they can do it across platforms and with clarity behind the messaging, too, they’ll see serious brand love, positive social chatter and hopefully sell-through. The game is on.
