Word was that FIFA was struggling to find big-buck sponsors for the 2018 football World Cup as the taint of a corruption scandal in 2015 refuses to fade. Allegations of State-sponsored doping, hooliganism at sports events and political differences with participating nations have also darkened the cloud over the tournament. Long-standing partners including Coca-Cola, Visa and Adidas are on board, while Dalian Wanda, a Chinese property firm group, is a new top tier partner.

Many of the global campaigns feature the presence of star footballers, either in the flesh or as animated characters. Gatorade has a campaign called Heart of a Lio, featuring the story of Argentina team captain Lionel Messi who had to overcome a growth hormone deficiency and several ups and downs to succeed. Budweiser, the official beer of the World Cup, has gone hi-tech with its commercial featuring beer delivery drones and the launch of its Red Light Cups in several countries. The noise-activated cups will light up when the crowds, in the stadium or at viewing parties/events, cheer.

Smartphone brand Vivo has launched a global campaign called My Time, My Fifa World Cup which exhorts people to seize the day.

Headphones brand Beats by Dre’s Made Defiant campaign is star-heavy. Brazilian footballer Neymar, English team captain Harry Kane, German player Mesut Ozil and French footballer Benjamin Mendy feature in a film that also has other brand endorsers such as tennis champion Serena Williams and retired French footballer Thierry Henry. British filmmaker Guy Ritchie directed this film, which is about how these sportspersons turned obstacles into opportunity. Visa’s FOMO-themed campaign features former Sweden centre-forward Zlatan Ibrahimovic. Nike has a Brazil-centric campaign featuring Brazilian stars old and current, such as Ronaldo, Thiago Silva, Phillippe Coutinho and Willian.

Coca-Cola’s Being Ready campaign features four spots, one in which the company’s employees are preparing the bottles for the onslaught of emotions they will be caught up in.

Samsung has launched a series of spots featuring Thierry Henry, for its QLED TV.

A really unusual campaign is the one by BBC, whose History Will be Made is an animated film, in which every single frame is fully embroidered. According to the BBC’s website, more than 227,000 metres of thread were used to create over 600 unique frames of tapestry, that if laid end-to-end would measure over 1,200 metres in length.

Compiled by Sravanthi Challapalli

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