Football lives on training, whiteboards, play strategies and game patterns. But also everything that breaks the plan: an unexpected dribble, a race that no one saw coming, an impossible bicycle kick or a smile in the face of hostility. Nike has built its great global campaign for the 2026 World Cup precisely on this tension, which will be held between June 11 and July 19 in Mexico, the United States and Canada.
The brand has presented “Rip the Script”, a blockbuster produced with the Wieden+Kennedy agency, which serves as a rallying cry for fans and players around the world. The central idea is to leave the established manual behind and defend offensive, creative, instinctive and fun football. Or, in other words, remember that the game reaches its best version when footballers trust their intuition and not only the instructions received.
If Adidas claimed the joy of playing on any court, Nike raises the stakes towards building its own universe
The launch comes in the midst of a race by sports brands to occupy the imagination of the World Cup before the ball rolls. A few weeks ago Adidas presented “Backyard Legends”, a blockbuster starring Timothée Chalamet along with Lamine Yamal, Jude Bellingham, Trinity Rodman, Lionel Messi, Bad Bunny and historical figures such as Zidane, Beckham and Del Piero. Nike now responds with an even more choral and transversal display, in which football mixes with Hollywood, music, fashion, entertainment and culture.
If Adidas claimed the joy of playing on any court, Nike raises the stakes towards the construction of its own universe, designed to unfold throughout the tournament and fuel conversation beyond the main spot. Thus, “Rip the Script” is like the gateway to a universe of content, products, winks, secondary stories and activations that will be deployed throughout the tournament.
A gigantic Hollywood studio taken over by football
The film takes place inside a large Hollywood studio where some of the top footballers of the past and present decide to go off script. From there, the action transforms into a chaotic celebration of intuitive football, with scenes that mix spectacle, humor and sports epic.
The distribution is one of the main arguments of the campaign. “Rip the Script” brings together Cristiano Ronaldo, Kylian Mbappé, Erling Haaland and Vini Jr., along with legends such as Eric Cantona, Ronaldinho, Zlatan Ibrahimović, Didier Drogba and Jorge Campos. The Spanish representation comes from the hand of Alexia Putellas and Nico Williams, two profiles that connect with very different moments in current football: the global consolidation of women’s football and the new generation of offensive talent.
The distribution is one of the main arguments of the campaign
Each player appears associated with a way of understanding the game. Mbappé breaks the defense and finishes the action with a bicycle kick; Vini Jr. deflects hostility with a smile; Cristiano Ronaldo continues to push the boundaries of his own competitive narrative; and Haaland waits for the exact moment to hit. Legends, for their part, continue to function as figures governed by their own rules, even after they have retired.
The campaign also features cameos from sports, music, television and entertainment figures, including LeBron James, Travis Scott, Kim Kardashian, Ted Lasso, Kate Scott, Channing Tatum, Young Miko and LISA. With this, Nike reinforces an idea that has been working for years: football is no longer limited to the playing field and acts as a language shared by communities, creators, artists, fans and brands.
“We know that the magical moments in football occur when players trust their instincts”said Helena Thornton, Vice President of Brand Management at Nike. “That’s the football we like: fresh, instinctive, unexpected and creative.”
A campaign designed to be shared
Nike has described “Rip the Script” as an expanding universe. The brand does not want the film to be just a piece to watch and has presented it as the starting point to generate conversation during the summer. That is why it has designed the campaign with interconnected stories, secondary plots, unexpected appearances and content loaded with hidden hints so that fans, creators and players can take ownership of the narrative.
“We made this film to meet football communities exactly where they are, not just on a screen, but in their world and deeply integrated into their subcultures”Thornton explained. “We didn’t want to follow the traditional marketing playbook. We wanted to give them something to talk about, something they would want to cut out, wear, share or experience in person. A story that they wouldn’t just watch, but could make their own. That’s the idea behind our Nike Football universe.”.
The presence of Kim Kardashian illustrates this logic well. Nike has explained that his role has been built from a real connection with football, as he often accompanies his son Saint to play. From there, the brand has created for her a kind of soccer mother character that will be used in future extensions of the campaign.
“We were very intentional when choosing each person in the cast and we had fun exploring the more playful side of their roles”explained Enrico Balleri, Vice President and Creative Director of Global Brand Voice at Nike. “We knew, for example, that Kim takes Saint to play soccer, so we created a kind of soccer mom character for her, and in future extensions of the film we will continue to develop that story. It was essential for us to have a cast that reflected authenticity and a real connection to soccer.”
