Beauty’s taking on the World Cup in a big way this year, hoping to grasp the attention of a global legion of fans.
For the first time in the tournament’s 96-year history, the World Cup has an official skincare and haircare sponsor by way of Paula’s Choice and Clear Men, respectively. Paula’s Choice launched its Proud Supporter of Your Skin campaign in tandem with the multi-week event, as well as a Starting Lineup kit, featuring key products like its liquid exfoliant and SPF. Clear Men, which has long worked with soccer stars including Cristiano Ronaldo, Vinícius Júnior, Kenan Yıldız and Salem Aldawsari, is running a World Cup fan campaign.
It’s not only official sponsors wanting a piece of the World Cup pie. Other beauty brands are tapping ambassadors — such as Vichy and Vitinha; L’Oréal Paris and Declan Rice; Dove and Clint Dempsey; and Remington and Micah Richards — to leverage the player’s social media influence through shared posts and Instagram stories, vox pop videos, and limited-edition ranges for certain markets.
The World Cup is big business. According to Fifa, commercial deals for the 2022 World Cup drove $7.57 billion in revenue, with beauty brands seeing the tournament as a launchpad into the men’s category. Globally, the men’s grooming sector is on track to grow 6.8% to $73 billion by 2027, according to Euromonitor, while North America is forecasted to grow 3.8% to $15.4 billion and the Latin market by 6.4% to $15.4 billion.
Today, as soccer players’ stardom continues to evolve off-pitch, beauty brands are taking note. “Fans see athletes differently today. Years ago, people only watched the match, now they follow the entire journey — from training sessions, recovery routines, and travel to family life and personal habits,” says Giovanni Santoro, a Fifa-licensed soccer agent and co-founder of Amyn, the beauty brand launched by Iraqi soccer player Youssef Amyn in April and gained backing from Global Bright Future.
However soccer audiences are highly engaged and discerning, so brands must show up in ways that reflect how fans experience the game. At the 2022 World Cup, for example, Adidas gained a social media reach of 10.3 billion through its campaigns starring Lionel Messi and Karim Benzema, according to CreatorIQ. Beyond sportswear, men’s grooming could be the next opportunity, so long as brands approach it correctly. “Success comes from understanding the culture and participating meaningfully, building long-term relationships rather than treating soccer as a one-off moment,” says Andrea Cappi, global brand director for Clear Men.
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