Nike Goes Hollywood in Star-Studded World Cup Campaign Film

As anticipation builds for the kickoff to the World Cup, Nike is bringing the star power in its dedicated campaign in honor of the major event.

Called “Rip the Script,” Nike intentionally leaned into a wide cast of characters for the film with the aim of bringing more consumers into the fold, especially in the U.S., which traditionally isn’t as passionate about soccer as fans in other parts of the world.

Helena Thornton, vice president of Nike brand management told FN in an interview at the company’s New York offices ahead of the campaign’s debut, that the Swoosh “played into Hollywood” for this film, with the idea of cinema at the center.

“It’s to make sure that even if you weren’t necessarily the deepest football consumer at the start of this journey, you might be somebody who’s very interested in Lisa [from Blackpink], or you might be somebody who’s interested in Kim Kardashian, and they both have authentic conversations within football,” Thornton said.

“We speak a lot about how Kim [Kardashian] is the ultimate soccer mom, and actually, in the film, [her son] Saint was wearing the new Paris Saint-Germain F.C. x Awake kit, and that’s actually the launch of that jersey in the film. Saint is actually a big PSG fan. So, we’ve made sure to include authentic connections to the sport like this throughout the film.”

Along with Kardashian, other major stars in the short film include Kylian Mbappé, Cristiano Ronaldo, Erling Haaland and more soccer legends make cameos in the campaign. Other surprising moments came with appearances by LeBron James, Travis Scott, Ted Lasso and Channing Tatum, all of which provide some comic relief in the film.

“We were intentional in choosing every cast member in the film, and we had fun and leaned into the playfulness of their roles,” Enrico Balleri, vice president and creative director of global brand voice at Nike, said.

Thornton noted to FN that fans will see more from the film’s cast of characters over the next ten weeks via extensions of the film as Nike aims to “build and deepen” the storyline.

“This is the longest tournament in history, and the longest sporting moment in history,” Thornton added. “So, the idea is that all these stories continue to unravel, and especially, there’s some really iconic legendary football players in this work who have built Nike football with us over the last 30 years, and their stories and their perspective of the game today are also going to play out for the duration of the tournament.”