• by Sarah Mahoney , June 5, 2026

While the coming FIFA games are a high-stakes showcase for all participating brands, they are everything for endemic advertisers like Nike and Adidas. And with Adidas floating on record sales and Nike stumbling through a painfully slow turnaround, the swoosh and the stripes will show up very differently at this year's games.

For Nike, the answer is a massive marketing onslaught called "Rip the Script" — a campaign so ambitiously cast it might as well be called "Just Do Everyone." The company says it wants the campaign to be a rallying cry for football lovers, asking them to ditch the usual playbook and embrace attacking, creative, instinctive and joyful football.

The six-minute film relies on true kitchen-sink casting. Besides Cristiano Ronaldo, Kylian Mbappé, Erling Haaland and Vini Jr., it features legends like Eric Cantona, Ronaldinho, Zlatan Ibrahimovi, Didier Drogba and Jorge Campos. Sprinkled in: LeBron James, Travis Scott, Kim Kardashian, Ted Lasso (yes, the fictional manager played by Jason Sudeikis), Channing Tatum and Young Miko.

The brand is also arriving at the tournament with what it calls its best boots ever, a new Legopartnership emphasizing creative play, and X2 collections offering customized apparel reflecting national pride — seven country-specific styles shaped by their federation, then reinterpreted through designers, artists and communities who live the game. More than 5,000 retail locations are being refreshed to connect what Nike calls its "Universe of Nike Football" to a wider audience.

Adidas, which released “The Greatest Football Story Ever Told” — a sprawling, star-packed production of its own — a month ago, is now trying a new retail tactic: an elaborate national partnership with Nordstrom. Spanning 35 Nordstrom doors, the partnership is anchored by an immersive Adidas at The Corner installation at the Nordstrom NYC Flagship and a dedicated shop-in-shop at Nordstrom Downtown Seattle, with additional presentations in World Cup match cities.

The retailer is promoting the partnership with a delightfully NYC-centric video. Weekly activations will take place every Thursday, featuring gift-with-purchase offers, giveaways and sweepstakes, with weekend events programmed to align with each week's featured country — offering customers complimentary gifts and customized apparel.

With Nike needing a win and Adidas already ahead on points, the real competition may be less about the soccer and more about which brand owns the cultural moment around it.