Nike's frenzied six-minute football-themed advert features Norwegian superstar Erling Haaland, Kylian Mbappe and Cristiano Ronaldo, alongside Kim Kardashian, Travis Scott, LeBron James and Ted Lasso. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing BBC News.
Adidas's five-minute offering brings together Timothée Chalamet, Lamine Yamal, Jude Bellingham and Trinity Rodman in a neighbourhood tournament. Palace Skateboards, Nike and England collaborated on a patriotic rallying cry with Wayne Rooney. Other brands like Brahma, Budweiser, Pepsi, Lays Crisps and Lego are also creatively vying for fans' attention.
Nike executive creative director Caleb Jensen calls these adverts "a World Cup in itself in the world of advertising." His partner Blair Warren notes that young people don't want to feel marketed to. Advertising journalist Gurjit Degun from Campaign says this trend reflects companies "creating entertaining content" over traditional ads. She suggests that with the US as a host nation, brands are approaching it like Super Bowl ads.
Tom Berendsen, managing director of Business/Club, declares "selling products is dead" and brands must entertain. Oscar-winning director Alejandro González Iñárritu arguably kicked off the trend in 2010 with his epic Write The Future ad.