Brands rethink campaigns after Brazil’s World Cup exit

Norway players celebrate their 2-1 victory over Brazil in Sunday’s World Cup match in the U.S. Frank Franklin II/AP Brazil’s 2-1 loss to Norway in the World Cup on Sunday (5) prompted only limited reaction from the national team’s sponsors in the immediate aftermath of the match, which ended around 7 p.m. Brasília time. In practice, only Itaú and Unilever’s deodorant brand Rexona adjusted their communications quickly. Until the final whistle—and even afterward—broadcast television continued airing advertisements encouraging fans to support the national team. Brazilian sponsors ready ads for win or World Cup exit Brazil World Cup matches drive surge in beverage sales Hotels tap World Cup to boost food, beverage revenue Rexona, a sponsor of FIFA, the tournament’s organizer, aired a commercial before the match ended, stating: “No matter the result, Rexona never leaves you.” About 40 minutes after the final whistle, the brand posted a video on social media showing fans in tears alongside the message: “It wasn’t our time. The #FansWhoNeverLeave will have another chance to celebrate victory. No matter what happens, Rexona #NeverLeavesYou.” Itaú, an official sponsor of Brazil’s national team, took a different approach. Ten minutes after the match ended, the bank began deleting posts published throughout the day about the game. It also removed pinned World Cup campaign content from its profile. Within about 40 minutes, more than 500 posts had been removed from Instagram. The account’s profile description was changed to the phrase “No vazio feito você” [Into the emptiness just like you]. Four hours after Brazil’s defeat, Telefónica’s Vivo brand posted a message on social media: a six-second video featuring a white background, the company’s logo in gray, and the words “airplane mode,” referring to the smartphone feature that disconnects the device from mobile networks. The caption read: “That’s it for today, Purple Brazilian,” a reference to Vivo’s long-running “Brasileiro Roxo” (“Purple Brazilian”) brand campaign. Unilever allocated half of Rexona’s annual marketing budget in Brazil to the World Cup, an investment 10% larger than in 2025. In its debut as a FIFA sponsor, the company concentrated its local tournament activation on the deodorant brand. Before the match against Norway, the mood had been very different. Sponsors of the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) stepped up their social media activity with messages of support for the national team, influencer campaigns, and humorous content designed to capitalize on higher audience engagement during the knockout stage. Itaú was among the most active brands, publishing seven posts aimed at fans and promoting its loyalty program. Telefónica’s Vivo brand shared three pieces of content featuring forward Vinícius Júnior. Volkswagen published five posts related to the match. Guaraná Antarctica (owned by Ambev), Google, Uber, and Sadia also used the pre-match period to encourage fan engagement and promote World Cup-related campaigns. The tournament generated positive results for participating brands. According to iFood, its World Cup campaign reached 185 million people and produced more than 350 social media posts, over 200 of them created in real time to accompany the matches. Vivo said its “Brasileiro Roxo” campaign, which ran from April 2 to July 1, generated 1.4 million interactions and 32,200 social media shares. Volkswagen said its campaign delivered nearly 300 million impressions and more than 700,000 engagements. As of 11:30 p.m., no sponsors other than Itaú, Vivo, and Rexona had released new television advertisements or social media campaigns following Brazil’s elimination.