The World Cup of adverts: How brands are competing to entertain, not simply sell
Almost six minutes into Nike's recent football-themed advert, Norwegian superstar striker Erling Haaland finally springs into action.
Having patiently waited on the film set alongside his supposed stunt double, US actor Channing Tatum, the Manchester City forward appears suddenly in slow motion — in final boss mode — to spoil a young player's chance at glory.
"Rip the Script," as the ad is called, features Haaland alongside fellow goal machines Kylian Mbappe and Cristiano Ronaldo.
More notably, the advert includes a constellation of stars from other entertainment fields adjacent to football.
These include fictional soccer coach Ted Lasso, Kim Kardashian and her PSG-supporting son Saint West, rappers and football fans Travis Scott, Central Cee, and Blackpink's Lisa, as well as basketball icon LeBron James, who is a minority owner of Liverpool FC.
James and Ronaldo appear together looking less like sports stars and more like characters from the X-Men or Justice League.
The cinematic commercial sparked widespread discussion online last week and capped a remarkable series of lengthy, star-studded videos released ahead of the FIFA Men's World Cup.
It debuted shortly after Marty Supreme star and Chelsea fan Timothée Chalamet was seen assembling a band of "Backyard Legends," including footballers Lamine Yamal, Jude Bellingham, and Trinity Rodman, in Adidas's five-minute feature.
This free-flowing neighborhood tournament also featured Puerto Rican music star Bad Bunny, Lionel Messi, and — through digital technology — a regenerated young David Beckham from his playing days.
Elsewhere, a collaboration between Palace Skateboards streetwear, Nike, and England brought former captain Wayne Rooney delivering a patriotic rallying cry from the pages of William Shakespeare's Richard II.
Many other brands, including Brahma, Budweiser, and Pepsi, have been creatively competing for football fans' attention, as have Lays Crisps and Lego.
"It's very exciting and fun to start seeing everybody put their pieces on the table," Caleb Jensen, one of Nike's executive creative directors, tells .
"It does feel like it's a World Cup in itself, just in the world of advertising."
Of course, World Cup-related adverts have a long history — from Diego Maradona starring for Coca-Cola in 1982 to a young Scott Parker performing keepie-uppies for McDonald's in 1994, and the Brazil team's memorable airport scenes set to a samba beat in 1998.
However, the ambition and scale of these latest productions — widely shared across social media — appear to have significantly increased this time around.
Many resemble mini-movies more than conventional commercials.
"Young people don't want to feel like they're being marketed to," reasons Jensen's creative partner Blair Warren.
Entertaining content
Advertising journalist Gurjit Degun, from industry publication Campaign, believes this reflects a broader trend towards companies "creating entertaining content" rather than traditional advertisements.
"These adverts are less about selling products like football boots and fizzy drinks — though they are still in there — and more about cultural engagement and lifestyle," she explains.
This trend is also evident in Christmas adverts, such as Waitrose's four-minute festive rom-com The Perfect Gift starring Keira Knightley and Joe Wilkinson, Degun notes.
Given that the US is one of the World Cup host nations, she suggests brands are potentially approaching it similarly to how they handle Super Bowl ads — by going big and long.
Shorter versions of many commercials — like the Instacart one featuring Ben Stiller and Benson Boone in a retro-pop music video — have aired on TV during match breaks, directing viewers to watch more online.
Hydration breaks during this summer's matches will divide games into four quarters instead of two halves, allowing broadcasters to insert more promotional content.
Tom Berendsen, managing director of production company Business/Club, produced a Super Bowl advert this year for Skittles starring Elijah Wood as a magical horned woodland creature.
Berendsen's company aims to create films or "absurdist entertainment" for audiences "who hate commercials."
"Selling products is dead," he states. "And I think brands have quickly realised that in order to make anyone [care], you have to entertain them, which is easier said than done."
Businesses now seek production companies and directors prominent in entertainment — those who make music videos, short films, and features.
One such creative, Oscar-winning Mexican director Alejandro González Iñárritu (The Revenant, Birdman), arguably started this trend in 2010 with his epic Write The Future ad, which depicted a bearded Rooney living in a caravan park while dreaming of success.
"Big brand ambassadors" like Rooney are necessary to stand out in the "saturated" advertising space, says Berendsen.
"The only way that you cut through that barrier is to bring in people with cultural significance that they [viewers] respect.
"But, God, does it cost brands a lot of money to do this."
His company is currently developing a short sitcom and a series of sketches that subtly endorse a new drink.
"In the old days, you would have a product, and then you'd have advertising to sell a product. Nowadays you create entertainment that happens to sell a product."
Celebrating fan culture
Scottish soft drink Irn-Bru added some fizz to fans' social feeds last week — ahead of Scotland's first men's World Cup appearance in 28 years — by releasing a tongue-in-cheek music video, We're Made in Scotland from Girders.
The video features singer Susan Boyle, prompted by midfielder John McGinn, delivering a balladic version of a retro jingle atop the Forth Bridge, while Franz Ferdinand's Alex Kapranos plays guitar near a loch.
Comedian Paul Black and actor Kevin Oakes also appear, but according to Shelley Smoller, chief creative officer at Lucky Generals, which managed the campaign, the focus is on "celebrating Scottish football fans."
"Irn-Bru doesn't have the budgets of some of the other bigger brands, so they have to have a different point of view and punch above their weight," she says.
"We did loads of research to actually find out what the fans are feeling, what the Tartan Army is going through during this time, and what they feel about it.
"So it's not celebrating football greatness or the heroic athletes or the cinematic aspiration that other brands are trying to tap into, but more like the ridiculous travel plans, the impossible odds, the financial irresponsibility and the sleep deprivation — and really tap into Scottish culture that way."
Highlighting the "experiences and challenges" faced by fans during a "genuinely global cultural moment," Smoller says, was the approach to create something "very human and easy to relate to."
"As competitive as football is, with all the rivalry, it's the same for brands, and everyone's trying to compete to get the biggest stars, and so you need to give more than that."
Brands like Nike and Irn-Bru have indicated more content will be released throughout the tournament, so new material and adverts are expected as the summer progresses.
These may depend on how events unfold for teams such as Scotland.
"What I will tell you is there are going to be certain ways of making it relevant to the different phases of the tournament," Smoller smiles.
