The World Cup is the most popular sporting event in the world. Every four years national teams go head-to-head to win football supremacy and bring glory to their homeland. For fans it’s always a once-and-a-lifetime opportunity. For companies, it’s a once-and-a-lifetime opportunity to cash in.
That’s Nike’s philosophy as they’ve gone all-in to launch a new footy cleat and television spot with FIFA Player of the Year Cristiano Ronaldo. Nike has been in a heavyweight battle with Germany’s Adidas to control the world football market. Global sales are neck and neck for the two giants, eclipsing $2 billion.
The Adidas vs. Nike showdown is a football fans dream. Adidas, who is the official sponsor of the World Cup, has eight national teams in the tournament headlined by Argentina and Lionel Messi. On the other hand, Nike has 10 teams including hosts Brazil, England, France and the United States.
Nike has pulled out all the stops with its advertising enlisting the world’s top players such as Ronaldo, Neymar, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Andres Iniesta, Wayne Rooney, Tim Howard and more to launch their new ‘Superfly’ soccer cleat. The commercial, scene below, even has a cameo from Kobe Bryant! The new cleat, which is all over the commercial, is expected to retail at around $275.
The 2014 World Cup is a golden opportunity for companies to strike it rich. To give you an example, Nike’s new commercial which just recently aired has already been viewed by 15 million fans. There are billions, not millions, to be won if marketing is done right at the World Cup. Nike lives for situations like this.
