FIFA has forced stadiums to rebrand if the names on the doors are not paying for official World Cup sponsorship. Even the brand names on the seats you sit on and the condiments on your chips have been taped over if they haven’t added to FIFA’s coffers.
Gillette turned to social media after being silenced at the Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts. The P&G brand posted a picture of its logo hidden by a big heap of shaving foam next to the words, “At least we got to choose how we cover it.” The stadium logo was in fact covered by fabric but the fake pic still got a lot of love from consumers and marketers.
At the Levi’s Stadium in San Francisco, FIFA covered the brand’s 3D logo with a tarpaulin, but the force of the wind and the distinctive batwing shape helped it stand out for all to see. Levi’s created a social post and changed its profile pick in a move that racked up nine million views on TikTok alone. The cover up became the campaign, as Levi’s put the same disguise on the logos of its own stores in London, Paris, Milan, Berlin, Hong Kong, Brazil and Mexico.
Heinz, meanwhile, made a virtue of its taped-over logo by getting a lot of mileage out of the launch of “Unofficial Stadium Ketchup”.
Things are also getting subversive over in Finland where craft brewer Olarin Panimo has launched a beer branded Best Served Without ICE, to protest the presence of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents at FIFA World Cup events.
The World Cup is delivering a marketing bonanza all round, with Fox Sports hoping that the USA team – which has topped its qualifying group – will go far. The broadcaster is expecting to sell 30-second slots for as much as $2m if its team can keep building on its successful start. Audiences for team’s the group stages have reached up to 19 million so far.
