Four of our favourite FIFA World Cup Marketing Campaigns
With the 2026 FIFA World Cup well underway, we thought we’d get into the football spirit and take a look at some of our favourite World Cup marketing campaigns from over the years. From giant sculptures to loveable vegetables, brands have always found creative ways to get in on the football action – and these are four that we love.
Four FIFA World Cup Marketing Campaigns
2014 – Pringles’ football boot sculpture
Ahead of the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil, Pringles created a giant lucky football boot from 1,500 Pringles cans for England fans to rub for luck before matches. The creative campaign came following a survey conducted by Pringles that found 50% of Brits have a match day superstition.
The boot measured 5.3 metres long, 1.8 metres wide and 1.9 metres high, and weighed 490kg. It took a team of designers, sculptors and engineers 278 hours to build.
For good measure, it was blessed by Reverend Mark Townsend outside Wembley Stadium ahead of England’s warm-up clash against Peru, before going on tour around London, Birmingham and Liverpool, and then taking up residence at the National Football Museum in Manchester for the duration of the World Cup.
It’s silly, it’s fun, and it’s the kind of campaign that journalists simply couldn’t resist writing about. Job well done.
2022 – Aldi’s ‘Feast of Football’
The 2022 World Cup posed a unique challenge for UK marketers as it landed right in the middle of Christmas. Aldi turned that awkward clash into an opportunity.
Their Christmas campaign that year saw their beloved root vegetable mascot Kevin the Carrot showcase his football skills in a homage to Nike’s iconic 1998 Airport World Cup ad.
Titled ‘Feast of Football’, it opens with Kevin waiting at the airport for his flight to Paris (also a nod to Home Alone), grumbling to his wife about the World Cup clashing with the holidays before scrunching his newspaper into a ball, at which point a team of fruit and vegetable parodies of famous footballers appear and use it for an impromptu kickabout around the terminal.
And honestly, who can resist Kevin the Carrot? Aldi’s Christmas campaigns never disappoint – and this one, with its clever fusion of football and Home Alone, it’s definitely a firm favourite.
Watch the advert here!
2010 – Specsavers’ ‘Goal line technology’
Remember the 2010 World Cup in South Africa? England vs Germany, last 16 knockout stage. Frank Lampard, robbed of a clear goal. England are out. The nation is furious.
Specsavers’ response? A swift tactical ad with the tagline: “Goal line technology… from £25.”
That’s it. No big budget, no celebrities, just perfect timing and their iconic “Should’ve gone to Specsavers” brand territory. When the whole nation is already joking that the referee needs his eyes tested, all Specsavers had to do was get in there first.
It’s a masterclass in reactive PR: jumping on the back of a moment everyone’s talking about with wit and speed. It’s the kind of idea that makes you put your head in your hands and wish you’d thought of it first.
2026 – Adidas World Cup Pet Collection
As dog lovers, we were sold from the moment we saw this one. Ahead of the 2026 tournament, Adidas launched a FIFA World Cup 2026 pet jersey collection, letting football fans kit out their four-legged companions in matching team colours for the first time. The range features pet jerseys inspired by the home kits of Mexico, Colombia, Argentina and Japan, mirroring the design language of the official kits and featuring heat-transferred federation crests for a clean, premium finish.
Unfortunately, it’s only launching across North America, Latin America and selected markets in Asia, which means our office dogs won’t be rocking up in one anytime soon. But the idea speaks for itself, matching your pets with your favourite football team’s kit is just pure, joyful marketing, and we’re here for it.
