Nike launches football culture campaign before 2026 World Cup

Nike has launched its latest global football campaign, bringing together leading players, former stars and wider entertainment figures as it builds momentum before the 2026 World Cup.The sportswear brand said ‘Rip the Script’ is designed as a football universe that will run across the tournament summer, combining film, product, retail, social content and local activations.The campaign features Cristiano Ronaldo, Kylian Mbappé, Erling Haaland and Vini Jr, alongside former players including Eric Cantona, Ronaldinho, Zlatan Ibrahimović, Didier Drogba and Jorge Campos.Nike has also included cultural figures such as LeBron James, Travis Scott, Kim Kardashian, Ted Lasso, Kate Scott, Channing Tatum, Young Miko and LISA, underlining the brand’s attempt to position football as part of a wider entertainment and lifestyle ecosystem.The film is set inside a Hollywood studio and presents players moving away from a scripted production to play instinctively, reflecting Nike’s wider message around creativity, attacking football and self-expression.Nike said the campaign will extend through “overlapping and ongoing subplots and extensions”, with content intended to be clipped, shared and adapted by fans, creators and players.Helena Thornton, vice-president of Nike Brand Management, said: “We know the magical moments in football happen when players trust their instincts. That’s the kind of football we love: fresh, instinctive, unexpected and creative.“We made this film to meet football communities exactly where they are, not just on a screen, but in their world and deeply engrained into their subcultures. We didn’t want to follow the traditional marketing playbook. "We wanted to give them something worth talking about, worth clipping, worth wearing, worth showing up to. A story they don't just watch – one they can make their own. That’s the whole idea behind our universe of Nike Football.”The campaign also supports Nike’s 2026 federation kit collections, elite boot range and football culture products, including country-specific lifestyle collections and goalkeeper-inspired sportswear.Nike said it will refresh more than 5,000 retail locations across its own stores and wholesale partners from early June until the end of the tournament.The campaign will also include local football activations in key US cities, including New York, Los Angeles and Dallas.Enrico Balleri, vice-president and creative director of Nike Global Brand Voice, said the casting was designed to reflect authentic connections to football.He said: “We were intentional in choosing every cast member in the film, and we had fun and leaned into the playfulness of their roles. "We knew Kim, for example, takes Saint to play football, so we created a whole ‘soccer mom’ persona for her, and in later extensions of the film, we’ll build and deepen that storyline. A cast that reflected an authenticity and a real connection to football was crucial to us.”