The soccer World Cup regularly attracts millions of people from all over the world and has thus now become an international advertising platform. We take a look at the craziest and most creative World Cup advertising of recent years and are excited to see what awaits us in 2022.
A brief look back at the history of World Cup advertising
The advertising for the World Cup began anything but traditional. In the first years of the event, companies used the opportunity to sell their products. For example, Coca-Cola and Sony showed their latest products in the World Cup commercials. However, the promotional videos were mostly short and to the point and were meant to convey only the bare essentials.
In recent years, however, the nature of World Cup advertising has changed dramatically. Today, the slogans of the commercials are often understood as a statement about the event itself. The latest World Cup ads focus more on emotion and story than simple product placement.
The best World Cup commercials of all time
The World Cup has long been one of the most anticipated sporting events in the world. And the advertising campaigns around the World Cup are always something special. Here are our favorites:
1. adidas - "All in or Nothing" (2014)
Adidas has been a big sponsor of the World Cup for a long time and has always launched great advertising campaigns around the tournament. The 2014 “All in or Nothing” campaign is a great example of this. The accompanying commercial shows how the world’s best soccer players prepare for the tournament.
2. Nike - "Write the Future" (2010)
Nike’s 2010 World Cup commercial, “Write the Future,” is widely considered one of the best spots of all time. The three-minute spot features some of the world’s biggest soccer stars, including Cristiano Ronaldo, Didier Drogba and Wayne Rooney. The commercial tells the story of how a single moment on the soccer field can change a player’s life forever.
The 2022 World Cup advertising: an overview
Of course, this year’s World Cup will also feature the big international brands with their commercials. Here you will find a continuously updated list:
Adidas - Family Reunion
Adidas launches its World Cup campaign “Impossible is Nothing” with a short commercial clip called “Family Reunion”. As the name suggests, it shows how various national players, including Lionel Messi, Karim Benzema, Son Heung-min and Serge Gnabry, prepare for a joint “family reunion. The British musician Stormzy will be on board.
Nike - GOAT Experiment
With their “GOAT Experiment” commercial clip, Nike managed to get a whole truckload of soccer stars in one place. The film shows how scientists teleport more and more players to a soccer field and compete against each other to find out who is the GOAT (Greatest of all time). If it starts quite simple with Kylian Mbappe and Ronaldinho, more and more players and legends are seen in the course. Even the anime character Axel Blaze (Inazuma Eleven) made it into the spot.
Coca Cola - Believing is Magic
With its “Believing is Magic” campaign, Coca Cola wants to celebrate fans’ common ground and passion for the game. Several promotional clips are planned for this, some of which have already been released or will be coming in the next few weeks. The short film “Street” kicked things off:
Frito Lay - Is it called Soccer or Football?
Is it soccer or football? This long-debated question is answered with the help of soccer legend David Beckham and American soccer star Peyton Manning in the Frito Lay commercial. As the film progresses, more familiar faces join the discussion.
FOX Soccer - 'Tis the Fifa World Cup
With its campaign ‘Tis the Fifa World Cup’, the American TV channel FOX Soccer alludes to the fact that this year the World Cup coincides with the pre-Christmas period. Their various clips show how Santa Claus, played by Jon Hamm, deals with this situation.
The first spot begins with Santa Claus enjoying his vacation in the south, until he is interrupted by a phone call and learns that the World Cup has been moved to “his” time of year. He then rushes back to the North Pole to begin preparations.
Back at the North Pole, Santa Claus can’t believe in the second spot that the World Cup has actually been postponed until December. But it’s not long before he realizes the benefits of a “Christmas World Cup” and focuses on producing Christmas cookies, gifts and more, soccer-style.
Pepsi - Nutmeg Royale #Thirsty for More
With the World Cup clip “Nutmeg Royale,” Pepsi heralds its large-scale “Thirsty for More” campaign for the first time. The spot shows the three soccer greats Lionel Messi, Ronaldinho and Paul Pogba in a nerve-racking duel against the local population, in which both sides repeatedly surprise their opponents with amazing tricks and soccer talent.
Kia - Every Four Years
Kia’s “Every Four Years” spot picks up on those things that always happen every four years during the World Cup. Among other things, closely related joy and sorrow, but also the common hopes for victory are addressed.
Bleacher Report - Unreal World Cup Toy Animation Hype Tape
The sports portal Bleacher Report is contributing to the 2022 World Cup advertising with probably one of the most creative ideas. The short film features various soccer players as play figures that – similar to the Pixar classic “Toy Story” – come to life as soon as no one is in the room. As a result, a fiercely contested soccer duel breaks out in the children’s room. We especially liked the game figure of Erling Haaland “trapped” in the cardboard box, who also cannot participate in the tournament in real life due to Norway’s lack of qualification.
McDonald's - Wanna Go To McDonald's?
This sentence has probably been heard by just about everyone. McDonald’s picks up on this and shows various situations in which this question comes up in its “Wanna Go To McDonald’s?” commercial.
Artificial intelligence for your own marketing campaigns
So much creativity at once is contagious, isn’t it? If you’re looking for good ideas for your marketing yourself, or a way to implement them as simply but effectively as possible, you can use artificial intelligence, for example.
With a so-called AI text generator, you can create and personalize your own marketing campaigns. It automatically generates texts tailored to your target audience. This way you can advertise effectively with little effort.
If you are interested in using an AI text generator, neuroflash might be something for you. To create appealing texts or ideas in seconds with this tool, all you have to do is state your rough thoughts and wishes in a short briefing. The AI then gives you various suggestions that you can freely adopt and combine with each other. For example, you can use it to create a video script for YouTube:
Then the AI can generate a suitable title for you:
If you want to try out the many free features for yourself, you can register with neuroflash here.
You can find more ideas for your YouTube videos here.
Is the 2022 World Cup attractive for advertisers?
Preparations for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar are already in full swing, and the world’s major advertisers have given a lot of thought to advertising opportunities around the mega-event. However, the awarding of the World Cup to Qatar was controversial from the beginning and there are many voices that want to boycott the World Cup. This could possibly also have an impact on advertising around the World Cup.
Frequently asked questions & answers
What is the FIFA World Cup?
The FIFA World Cup is a soccer tournament held every four years, where the best national teams from around the world compete for the prestigious title.
When will the 2022 World Cup take place?
From November 20 to December 18, 2022.
Overall, the advertising for the 2022 World Cup has been very successful so far. The various campaigns are creatively and attractively designed and appeal to many target groups. However, it remains to be seen how the conflicts surrounding this year’s World Cup will affect the success of the individual campaigns.
