Nike v Adidas - the World Cup brand battle

Image source, Reuters and Getty ImagesImage caption, Kylian Mbappe and Lionel Messi are key parts of the World Cup advertising campaigns for Nike and Adidas respectively The World Cup is all about numbers. Which team has scored the most goals? Who's got enough points to make it to the knockout stages? The same is true in marketing - which brand has the biggest market capitalisation? Put simply, who's selling the most stuff? Kylian Mbappe, Erling Haaland, Cristiano Ronaldo and LeBron James are just some of the names who feature in Nike's Rip the script World Cup advert. Adidas' Backyard Legends offering doesn't scrimp on A-List talent either with Lamine Yamal, Jude Bellingham, Lionel Messi and Zinedine Zidane all included. Even an AI David Beckham makes an appearance. They look more like Hollywood blockbusters than traditional adverts and those stars don't come cheap. The German brand spent a whopping £50m making theirs, according to reports. Neither company will disclose exactly how much they spent (we did ask), but you can be sure that the bills will run into tens of millions. Eye-watering budgets are nothing new, but this year both Nike and Adidas have gone bigger and bolder than ever before. If we're judging purely on YouTube views, there's only one winner at the time of writing. Nike's has pulled in 76 million views with Adidas' ad on about seven million. Camilo Andrade, the vice-president and general manager of Nike Global Football, said: "What has changed is the speed and shape of culture. In the digital age, stories travel faster, fragment faster, and get reinterpreted faster. That means the old model of one polished film doing all the work is no longer enough. "With Rip The Script, we've built something broader: a football universe that lives both digitally and in real life. "With this campaign in particular, success was never going to be measured only by how many people watched a film, but rather how we open the world up to give fans, players and creators something they could interpret, remix and take further themselves. "When that starts happening, you know the work is moving beyond advertising and becoming part of football culture." Image source, NikeImage caption, Kylian Mbappe starring in Nike's 'Rip the script' World Cup advert Image source, AdidasImage caption, Zinedine Zidane, David Beckham and Alessandro Del Piero lining up on a concrete football pitch in Adidas' 'Backyard Legends' World Cup advert Image source, NikeImage caption, Cristiano Ronaldo starring in Nike's World Cup advert Image source, AdidasImage caption, Lionel Messi alongside with musician Bad Bunny in Adidas' World Cup advert Image source, NikeImage caption, Didier Drogba, Kate Scott and Zlatan Ibrahimovic sitting on a studio desk in Nike's World Cup advert Image source, AdidasImage caption, Jude Bellingham and Lamine Yamal sitting in the back of a car in Adidas' World Cup advert Previous imageNext imageSlide 1 of 6, Mbappe starring in Nike's 'Rip the script' World Cup advert, Kylian Mbappe starring in Nike's 'Rip the script' World Cup advertEnd of image galleryAdidas have been associated with the World Cup since 1970 when they created the iconic Telstar match ball for the tournament. Florian Alt, their vice-president of marketing communications, brand and performance, said: "Our campaign, Backyard Legends, featured a scene familiar to anyone who has played football – a local pitch, an unbeatable crew and some stories that become legends. "And with that campaign we meet consumers where they are – whether they are watching on TV, following their favourite athletes on social media, or engaging with the culture created by the sport." With the battle for World Cup attention well under way, Adidas appears to have made the stronger early impression in New York. In Soho, the contrast between the two sportswear giants is striking. Adidas and Nike's flagship stores sit opposite each other, but only one feels fully immersed in the tournament. Adidas has covered its store in World Cup branding, with football shirts and tournament merchandise front and centre. Across the street, Nike's focus remains, understandably, on the New York Knicks following their recent NBA title success. However, that difference does extend beyond both stores. Around Manhattan, Adidas branding has been hard to miss, from dedicated World Cup pop-ups to smaller promotional stands and adverts across the city. Its activations have also felt more ambitious, creating a stronger sense that the tournament is here. Part of that may be down to how Adidas has tapped into football culture beyond the pitch. Its recent away shirt designs have found an audience in fashion and streetwear circles, particularly among younger fans from football diaspora communities. Shirts such as Japan's and Curacao's have become statements of identity as much as team merchandise, helping Adidas blur the line between football apparel and everyday fashion. On the gr

Nike v Adidas - the World Cup brand battle

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