At the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa, there is arguably no more expensive battle - with no stakes higher - than in the shoe and apparel category.
It's on that front where both Adidas (the FIFA Global Partner, official World Cup event sponsor and official supplier to 12 of the 32 national teams in South Africa) and Nike (the sponsor of world #1 Brazil and eight other countries) have invested hundreds of millions in sponsorships, endorsements, television advertising, internet campaigns and retail activation.
Adidas spent $200 M US on the FIFA World Cup sponsorship alone, another $100 M US on national team rights and what I'd estimate as another $300 M or more in advertising. Between the two footwear giants, they're spending in the range of $1 B US in total marketing around their event campaigns.
Throw in Nike-owned UMBRO and its England sponsorship, along with Puma and its sponsorship of seven national teams -- including four African entries -- and the shoe wars are big business well into 10 figures.
Nike -- which leads the overall shoe business market share sweepstakes with around 38% to Adidas' 34% -- struck first and hard with its Write the Future video campaign while Adidas countered a few weeks closer to the month-long tournament with its Star Wars-themed hero series entitled The Quest.
They've both had wins and losses along the way but it would appear Nike's advertising investment has run the shorter course with every one of the primary individual players featured in Write the Future out of action at the World Cup...with the event's biggest week still to come.
When Brazil fell 2-1 in Friday's quarter-final against the Netherlands, both Nike and Adidas shared the grief. That's because Nike supplies the Brazilian national team, while Adidas sponsors one if its biggest stars; Kaka, a headliner in its global campaign around the World Cup.
Nike loses more directly as its marquee team is out before the final week for the second consecutive World Cup. The only consolation for the U.S. company is that Brazil's loss came at the hands of The Netherlands, with the Oranje also wearing Nike and giving the Swoosh one team in the final four (alongside Germany and Spain of Adidas and Uruguay of Puma).
Yet on the Brazil loss, Adidas is not unscathed, partly because it gives Nike a stronger European foothold in the Oranje. Adidas is hurt with The Quest star Kaka out and because its official World Cup presence and television signage could very well be seen by less eyeballs worldwide. Brazil draws more than just Brazilians to the World Cup party and what hurts World Cup ratings hurts Adidas as an official FIFA partner.
It's an interesting case study around sponsoring giants. Brazil is the world's #1 soccer team and as such, has the cache - both collectively and through its individual players - to attract more than one global brand in any one category.
When such a giant falls, it falls hard...and in a case like this, the giant takes more than one sponsor with it.
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