A Most Beautiful Game
The World Cup gets advertising right
Maybe it’s just that I’m getting older and becoming more aware, but it feels as if with each passing four years, excitement about the World Cup in the United States continues to grow. That’s especially miraculous this year seeing as the United States is (pathetically) not participating in said World Cup. And yet we’re all still watching, rooting for surrogate teams, underdogs, or even would-be rivals.
I can’t speak for everyone, but I know the reason I’m watching: it’s simply a great product.
While I’m far from an expert on the game — like most people my age in the U.S., the last time soccer was a meaningful part of my life was when I was about 10 years old — the gameplay is clearly world-class. (Hence, the name of the tournament!) But that’s also not really what I mean here.
I’m talking about the actual presentation of the game on television. Unlike many of the sports we’re used to watching in the U.S., soccer is a breath of fresh air. You get to sit and actually watch a game for 45 minutes in a row, then you get a short break, then you watch for another 45 minutes in a row.¹
Contrast this with our most popular sport, (American) football. You watch for a few minutes. Then you watch a few minutes of commercials. Then you watch another few minutes of gameplay. Then a few minutes more of commercials. This repeats dozens of times over the course of a few hours. And the amount of gameplay action you actually get to see is something like 11 total minutes (because so much of the game not spent in commercial is spent standing around, winding down the clock). And 100 or so commercials. Seriously.
Because the (American) football action is so intense — and as a result, often intensely awful — television viewers like it. But in terms of bang-for-the-buck on a minute-by-minute basis, you’re getting very, very little. Essentially, you’re investing a lot of time to be advertised to. This is how you’re spending precious time in your life.
The same basic thing is true of the other “major” American sports, albeit to lesser degrees. With all of these sports, it’s all about the commercials.
During the World Cup, the commercials are limited to halftime.² But this works because the brands have adapted, advertising on the field during gameplay.³ From a pure entertainment perspective, it’s hard to overstate just how much better of an experience this is.
If I were in charge of the American sports, I’d take note of what works here. While it may seem like everything is going great in their games, with record television money rolling in thanks to said commercials, it feels like there’s an underlying current swelling against this trend, that these leagues can’t quite feel yet. And if soccer becomes a major player in the U.S. market — I know everyone has been waiting for this for decades, but again, I think the timing is becoming right for it to actually happen — watch out.
But I’d also take note simply because I think not only can it be a better product, but it can be a better business in many ways. As a culture, we’re always growing more and more numb to commercials. There are simply too many of them, too often. And kids are growing up with services where commercials are anathema. Many of us only watch them during live sporting events these days because we have to. But this just makes us resent them even more. But the brand advertising that is done on the field during these World Cup matches is different.
Because we desire to watch the action on the field, we’re quite literally a captive audience. We see the brand advertising because we must. And we probably have much better recall because newsflash: many games feature memorable moments. If those moments have a brand in frame…
Obviously, advertising isn’t going in way. When done right, it remains a highly effective medium and a great business. But I’d argue that with sports in the U.S., we’ve veered too far from that course. The money is still rolling in because well, that’s where the people are. But it’s not a good product. The World Cup offers a glimpse into what the correct compromise should be. A delicate balance of gameplay and sponsorship. An actually captive audience able to be targeted with two things at once. And a happy audience whose time isn’t being wasted by superfluous “TV time outs” for commercial ad breaks.
The real question: does the U.S. market realize all of this before we host the World Cup in 2026?
¹ There is often extra time, of course. And that’s even better because it’s always do-or-die.
² Not to mention the other soccer (futbol) leagues, where this is also the case.
³ And, in other leagues, they’re actually advertising on the players (jerseys) too, of course. Something which the NBA has started experimenting with, but not to the same extent.
