FIFA 2023: How brands in the US are kicking off the Women’s World Cup

The 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup kicks off this week in Australia and New Zealand as the first-ever co-hosted Women's World Cup tournament.

The games begin on July 20 and will run through August 20, with the final face-off taking place at Sydney’s Accor Stadium.

It’s a welcome event for brands who wish to grow their presence around women in sports. According to Sports Pro Media, Fox, which is airing the tournament, says advertising has sold faster than any previous edition of the tournament, attributing the rise to increased interest in women’s sport and a greater number of matches.

And ad spend against this year’s world cup is up 50% from 2019, according to Mike Petruzzi, senior VP of sales for Fox Sports. So far, Fox Sports has sold 90% of its ad inventory during the games.

Brands including FanDuel, Budweiser, Frito-Lay and others are marking the event with campaigns that honor women in sports.

But as soccer fans around the world tune into the games, the question still remains: will brands get their representation of equality in sports right?

So far, many have struck tones of female strength, resilience and grit, with a large focus on the fun of the game.

Campaign US has highlighted some of the campaigns out so far:

FanDuel

American soccer fans have a lot at stake for this year’s Women’s World Cup, as the U.S. Women’s national soccer team (USWNT) aims to lock-in a historic three-peat. Should they win this year’s tournament, it will become their third consecutive World Cup win.

But due to time zone differences, it might be difficult for Americans to watch matches. Games will take place either very early in the morning or very late at night.

To help fans stay awake for Team USA, FanDuel is offering fresh cups of coffee to refuel in the mornings after a long night of cheering. “FanFuel,” created by The Kennedys, Wieden+Kennedy New York’s in-house creative accelerator program, brings FanFuel-branded coffee trucks to four U.S. cities — Kansas City, Columbus, Boston and New York. The trucks will give out coffee to fans the morning after Team USA plays a match.

The custom coffee blend, created by woman-owned roastery North Edge Craft Coffee, will also be available for purchase on FanDuel’s website.

As part of the campaign, retired USWNT soccer team captain and two-time FIFA World Cup champion, Carli Lloyd, partnered with FanDuel to promote ways fans can bet on the USWNT through FanDuel Sportsbook.

Photo credit: FanDuel, used with permission

Budweiser

As the official beer of the FIFA World Cup this year, Budweiser is posing the question: who will #BringHometheBud?

The beer brand has tapped soccer world champion Lionel Messi for a hero spot, titled “Greatness is Hers to Take” and created by Wieden+Kennedy that asks the million-dollar question.

Budweiser will also ship crates of beer to countries participating in the world cup, hosting a celebration for the winning team, where it will unveil the final “The World is Yours to Take” film, complete with highlights from the winning team’s most iconic moments throughout the tournament. Allison + Partners is supporting PR.

Frito-Lay

Frito-Lay is gearing up for the Women’s World Cup with a star-studded TV spot featuring current and past women’s soccer stars.

“Taste of Greatness,” created by Frito-Lay’s in-house agency and directed by Bryan Buckley, shows a mother sharing her love of soccer with her daughter and teaching her the sport with Frito-Lay snacks.

In the spot, the mother arranges Frito-Lay products, including Cheetos, Popcorners and Doritos, into the formation of players on a soccer field. As she narrates the game, treats from each bag turn into animated versions of soccer icons, such as Mia Hamm, Carli Lloyd, Abby Wambach, Brandi Chastain, Briana Scurry, Marta Vieira da Silva, Christine Sinclair, Julie Ertz, Mallory Swanson and Crystal Dunn, created using 3D body scanning technology.

The commercial will air online and on TV beginning now through the duration of the tournament.

From July 20 to August 3, Frito-Lay will launch a giveaway, supported by Ketchum that gives fans a chance to win two tickets and travel to Sydney, Australia to watch the final match. For each match, fans also have a chance to win $1,000. To enter, customers need to look out for  Lay’s “GOALden Giveaway” announcement on Twitter, and then for every goal scored, tag the brand in a, tweet that says “GOAL” using #sweepstakes and #LaysGOALdenGiveaway.

EspnW

EspnW has launched a new creative spot as part of its platform “That’s a W,” featuring American soccer player Crystal Dunn.

The spot, created by Arts & Letters Co., opens with a shot of Dunn training while pregnant with her first child, highlighting her return to competitive play just 3.5 months after giving birth. Her performance during the competition led her to secure a place on the 2023 USWNT World Cup team.

The spot is part of a series of commercials that highlights untold stories of women in sports. Three previous spots featured Mikaela Shiffrin, who won the World Cup alpine ski competition; University of Florida gymnast Trinity Thomas, who is tied for the most perfect 10 scores in NCAA history; and University of Chicago’s men’s soccer head coach and he first woman in NCAA history to lead a men's team to a national championship, Julianne Sitch.