FIFA’s “clean stadium” policy for the World Cup requires the removal of brands without an official sponsorship contract for the tournament.
For some of these naming rights holders, however, the rule opened up the possibility of humorous marketing actions on social networks.
The traditional jeans manufacturer Levi’s, after which the San Francisco stadium is named, had to cover its logo on the arena, actually located in Santa Clara, despite the name, and extended FIFA’s determination to its stores as well.
In a video released on Monday (22), the company mocks the brand’s coverage, accompanied by the viral audio “nobody’s gonna know”, in Portuguese.
Razor brand Gillette, which names the stadium in Foxborough that is home to the NFL (National Football League) team New England Patriots, also used humor and social media to deal with the ban.
In publications about the games held at the arena, the profile wrote that it was another “unforgettable night at the ‘Boston’ stadium”, ironizing the name to which the enterprise was temporarily renamed.
To cover its brand outside the stadium, Gillette used a material that emulates shaving foam, one of the products in its portfolio. On Instagram, the brand showed the coverage and wrote: “at least they let us choose how to cover it.”
Other brands adopted similar “hide and show” strategies during the tournament. This was the case with Heinz and Beats by Dre. The latter edited a promotional photo of player Jamal Musiala, from Germany, to cover the letter b that identifies the brand’s headphones. In the caption, he joked about the result: “spoiler alert: it’s a b”.
Heinz played with its own slogan, “Has to be Heinz” (it has to be Heiz, in Portuguese), and published images of its ketchup packaging with the brand covered by a black ribbon. “During the match, even when we can’t say it”, says the caption, complemented by the slogan “it has to be.
The policy stripping stadium brands has also affected companies like SoFi, MetLife and NRG, which have seen the arenas they paid to name temporarily renamed New York and New Jersey Stadium and Houston Stadium for the sporting event.
The only 2026 World Cup stadium not affected by this rule is BC Place in Vancouver. “The official stadium names for the 2026 FIFA World Cup have been adapted to the names of the host cities and may differ from the common names used locally,” FIFA said on the tournament website.
Not all locations were able to fully comply with the standards. Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta (renamed Atlanta Stadium) couldn’t find a way to hide the automaker’s giant logo installed on the stadium’s roof.
Unable to cover the logo without damaging the structure, football’s highest governing body allowed it to remain visible, according to reports in the American press.
In Seattle, the telephone company Lumen also decided to face the situation with good humor, producing a fun video at the stadium it sponsors, the usual home of the Seahawks, from the NFL, and the Sounders, from the MLS, the American football league.
“As fans from around the world descend on our city and our stadium, my job is to make sure our brand doesn’t appear anywhere,” Ryan Asdourian, the company’s chief strategy and marketing officer, said in the video.
Wearing a helmet and wearing a fluorescent safety vest, the executive appears searching the place looking for any reference to Lumen, and the company’s logo ends up being highlighted, at least within the video itself.
As the Olympics also adopt a similar policy, SoFi Stadium will have to remove its sponsor’s branding again two years from now, when it will host, among other events, the opening ceremony of the Los Angeles 2028 Games.
