The FIFA World Cup is underway—and fans are being exposed to more advertising during the games than ever.
While the games have always been filled with sponsors and advertisers, fans are complaining that this World Cup has felt more ad-saturated than previous iterations. For example, the games now have mandatory “hydration breaks.” The breaks themselves are sponsored, and viewers of the games see additional ads during them.
This ad saturation goes beyond simply what people see on television. According to some people working at the games, it extends to what they can wear while at work.
What Did This Woman Have To Do To Her Shoes?
In a video with over 5.4 million views, TikTok user Julissa Leilani (@nvmjvlissa) explains how she ended up in a peculiar situation.
“I’m working at the World Cup at the Levi—oh, sorry. At the ‘San Francisco Bay Area Stadium,’” she starts, referencing the fact that the stadium was renamed for the World Cup. “They had emailed us and saying that we couldn’t wear any brand stuff, which I get.”
Unfortunately for Leilani, she says she accidentally wore a pair of shoes with a prominent Nike logo. Consequently, she says that management “handed me tape, and they were like, ‘You need to cover that up. That’s not Adidas.’”
Leilani then shows her shoes. They are completely wrapped in black tape.
“This is what the f— they made me do,” she states. Looking at her shoes, she’s in disbelief, sarcastically telling management, “Bro, it’s not that serious!”
Why Did They Make Her Do This?
As BroBible previously noted about Levi’s Stadium—also known as the San Francisco Bay Area Stadium—FIFA is incredibly protective about what brands are put in the spotlight during World Cup games. This is why any visible brand that doesn’t sponsor the games, even if it’s present only incidentally, is covered up when FIFA World Cup games are happening.
In Leilani’s case, she likely stepped afoul of FIFA’s sponsorship with adidas. On the FIFA website, the organization writes that, in all of its events, “FIFA officials, referees, volunteers and the entire Youth Programme (player escort, ball crew, flag bearers) wear Adidas products from head to toe.”
Having someone wear a non-Adidas product violates FIFA’s policy of the stadium being “clean” for sponsors, meaning free of competition. As a result, Leilani was asked to cover the logo.
While some brands may be frustrated to see their logos covered, others have embraced it. After the Levi’s logo was covered at the Levi’s Stadium, the company promptly changed their social media logos to the covered logo. The company then covered the logo at several of its prominent locations around the world—turning the event into a viral stunt.
Even under Leilani’s video, Levi’s left a comment reading, “They got you too huh.”
Commenters Say It’s Overkill
In the comments section, some users made jokes about the situation.
“Just don’t do it,” a commenter wrote.
Others questioned how following a “no brands” directive was even possible for shoes, given that many sneaker brands have prominent branding.
“How do u not wear a brand shoe? HOWWWW,” a user asked.
“Ok but literally everything is a brand so what they want you to do !?” another echoed.
“They need to provide the entire uniform if that’s the expectation,” declared a third.
Finally, some users said that FIFA was simply taking things too far.
“They’re doing way too much,” shared a further TikToker. “Nobody is gonna look at a workers nikes and be like ‘omg I NEED to buy nikes now.’”
BroBible reached out to FIFA via email and Leilani via email and Instagram direct message.