Hey Reader!

Back in May, I didn't give a flip about soccer or the World Cup, even though my city (Dallas) was hosting nine of the games. That all changed when rabid fan groups came through town and took over. Argentina fans took over a city park. England fans drank so much beer a bar had to close early. Croatia took over downtown.

After the US men's team lost to Belgium - and Erling Haaland did his awesome western store visit - I became fully invested in Norway. I'm bummed that the vikings lost to England last weekend, so no more rowing 😔

So now the final matchup is set for Sunday: Spain vs. Argentina.

I'm rooting for Spain 🇪🇸 ¡Vamos España!

Win or lose, the brands below already won the World Cup. You can steal their playbooks before the final whistle.

And if you have a merch idea sitting on the sideline, hit reply or click the big orange button. Let's get it in the game!

FIFA Covered Their Logo. Levi's Turned It Into A Moment

FIFA has a "clean venue" rule: if a stadium's brand sponsor isn't an official World Cup sponsor, the branding has to be covered for tournament games. The Levi's Stadium logo went under a giant white tarp. Luckily, the batwing shape of the Levi's logo was so recognizable that covering it didn't hide it. Levi's leaned in: they swapped their social media profiles to match the covered logo, and draped white sheets over logos on Levi's storefronts across the globe.

Takeaways:

• Engagement up over 400%, 500 million+ impressions, brand mentions up 44%. The restriction became a marketing moment.
• Nobody had to design anything new. The "campaign" was just pointing at the thing that was already happening to them.
• Steal this: next time a rule, a platform limit, or someone else's decision restricts what you can say or show, look for the joke in the restriction itself before you look for a workaround.

McDonald's World Cup Collectibles

McDonald's didn't stop at one tie-in item. They built a World Cup promotion into the entire menu. Their adult World Cup Meal came with a gold-packaged limited-edition Big Mac Sauce and a collectible cup. Kids' meals came with one of 23 different Squishmallows toys tied to the three host countries, each with a code that unlocked a game.

Takeaways:

• Every customer segment got its own collectible: adults got player cups, kids got plushies.
• Steal this: before your next promotion, look at every product you sell and ask if it could have its own small collectible, not just your flagship item.

"Dallas takes the world" Without a FIFA License

The Dallas Morning News launched its a limited apparel line for the World Cup: shirts and hats featuring soccer-inspired designs with flags from various countries. None of these use FIFA logos or official marks. The line was built entirely around the moment. A media company found a way into World Cup merch that a licensed vendor never could have pulled off as fast or as cheap.

Takeaways:

• You don't need the official license to ride a global moment. Designs that celebrate an event without using protected trademarks are fair game.
• A local business made a national event feel hyper-local, which is exactly the kind of thing a big licensed brand can't do.
• Steal this: look at your city's connection to whatever big cultural moment is coming next, and design something around that connection.

Coca-Cola Hid a Billion Stickers On Bottles

Coca-Cola tucked more than a billion Panini World Cup stickers under bottle labels, turning a routine soda purchase into a scavenger hunt. Sticker collecting for the World Cup is already a ritual for fans, so Coca-Cola didn't try to invent a new collectible. They just attached themselves to a tradition people already cared about.

Takeaways:

• This works because the "collectible" already existed in fans' minds. Coca-Cola just became the way to get more of it.
• Hiding the sticker under the label (not on top of it) turns every bottle into a tiny reveal moment.
• Steal this: look for a collecting habit your customers already have, and find a way to become part of it, instead of building a collectible from nothing.​

Heinz Turned Controversy Into a World Cup Promotion

Heinz fans have complained that their ketchup and mustard packets are too small. For the World Cup, Heinz released oversized packets styled like the red and yellow cards referees hold up during matches. One ketchup "red card," one mustard "yellow card" per box, sold at Walmart for $1.57, a nod to the brand's "57 varieties" heritage.

Takeaways:

• The product fixed a real complaint and used the World Cup as a vehicle to promote it.
• The $1.57 price means something if you know the brand's "57" history.
• Steal this: what's a small complaint your customers already voice out loud? That's a drop waiting to happen, and your own brand quirk (a number, a color, a phrase) can be the pricing joke.​

Odds & Ends

⚽️ Jack in the Box x The Hundreds 75th anniversary collection​

⚙️ FIFA World Cup 2026 vending machines dispense merch in North Texas​