The World Cup arrives at a moment when football’s grip on global culture has never been more visible or commercially significant for major brands.
Arsenal’s victory parade drew 1.5 million people, making it the biggest celebration parade on record, with attendees representing a diverse cross-section of British society.
Football in the UK has transcended sport entirely, weaving itself into music, fashion, film, television, and gaming in ways that few other cultural forces can match.
With the tournament now underway across the US, Mexico, and Canada, the central question for brands is how they tap into football’s deep cultural legacy.
Dame Heather Rabbatts DBE, Executive Chair of M&C Saatchi, argues that brands generating real returns will be those harnessing what she calls cultural power.
Cultural power, in this context, is the value a brand generates from its ability to shape and participate in culture, and the commercial return that influence delivers.
Lego offers a striking example of a brand without an obvious football connection finding genuine creative opportunity within the sport’s cultural ecosystem.
The toy giant created a World Cup-themed product range including a life-sized trophy and sets featuring models of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, alongside an ad featuring Kylian Mbappe and Vinicius Junior.
Adidas, meanwhile, has leaned into Hollywood for its US-themed World Cup campaign, with Timothee Chalamet leading an ensemble cast of current and former players from across the world.
The campaign emphasises how football can branch into other cultural arenas in a seamless fashion, giving Adidas credibility to speak to UK, American, and European audiences simultaneously.
Burberry, a brand that for years shied away from overt football terrace associations despite the crowds placing huge cachet on its classic check, is now embracing the sport once again.
Its campaign features a culturally diverse cast including Stephen Graham, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Romeo Beckham, and Eberechi Eze, celebrating match-day camaraderie and the spirit of football fandom.
The Burberry campaign is described as authentic to the British experience of game day, tying prestige celebrity appeal to wider audience nostalgia through its core storyline.
Rabbatts frames this creative approach through the concept of Return on Cultural Power, or ROCP, which moves brands beyond audience appeal toward genuine commercial return.
The tournament’s seemingly infinite creative possibilities mean there is a way in for brands across a multitude of sectors, not only those with long-standing ties to football.
The deeper challenge, and the most significant opportunity, lies in whether cultural power can finally bring football into the mainstream American cultural conversation.
This year’s campaigns have mobilised stars from actors to musicians in a coordinated push to shift football from a niche interest to a central part of US sporting culture.
Football has long dominated in Europe, Asia, and South America, but this World Cup may represent the most serious and well-funded attempt yet to capture the American imagination.