The Kardashianization of sportswear marketing, where individual star power outshines club or national loyalties, is on full display as industry giants Nike Inc. and Adidas AG battle for World Cup dominance. Some 45 seconds into Nike’s six-minute ad depicting a promotional football video shoot descending into chaos, one of the production staff utters: “Kim’s here.” And while Kim Kardashian appearing in the promo with soccer-mad son Saint has raised eyebrows, it really shouldn’t: Nike has a high-profile joint venture with her Skims brand, and the reality TV star’s presence is emblematic of the current trend.
Nike’s Rip the Script ad is full of cameos, including Cristiano Ronaldo and Didier Drogba. But France’s Kylian Mbappe opens the action and takes a good chunk of the screen time, with supporting roles from Brazil’s Vinicius Junior and a final shot from Norway’s Erling Haaland. Adidas’s Backyard Legends promo is led by Timothée Chalamet, with appearances from Lionel Messi and David Beckham. But it’s Spain’s 18-year-old Lamine Yamal who takes on a group of street football players for Chalamet’s team, along with England’s Jude Bellingham and American women’s player Trinity Rodman.