A summer of sports kicks off with Euro 2024, here are the campaigns to know

This summer is set to be one of the books in the world of sports, with the Paris Olympics on the horizon and UEFA Euro 2024 kicking off today in Germany. As such, there has been an influx of football-related campaigns from both sportswear brands and fashion retailers alike, celebrating the highly anticipated European tournament, with many of the event’s biggest stars even taking a front row seat among the marketing hype. FashionUnited has gathered together some of the few campaigns unveiled prior to the big day.

Sports Direct

Big names in the world of football were exactly who Sports Direct ensured to snap up as part of its 2024 summer campaign, ‘Football Fever Starts Here’. Appearing in both video and image formats across a range of media are the likes of Conor Gallagher, Jordan Pickford, Rúben Dias and Ian Wright, who each contribute to the overarching storyline; “what happens when football fever arrives in a local town”. The footballers, alongside fans of the sport, can be seen in “ordinary” surroundings across the UK in a range of branded gear aligning with the concept of “united football passion”.

The campaign builds on an ongoing collaborative initiative between Nike and Sports Direct, which had partnered up for the ‘Monster Kickabout’, a UK-based football programme aimed at encouraging school kids to take up the sport. In an expansion of this effort, Sports Direct said it would be providing free resources and football equipment to help teachers host a week of football-based activities during Youth Sport Trust’s National School Sports Week, running June 17 to 21.

Burberry

Of course, football fun isn’t entirely reserved for sports-centric brands. This was evidenced by Burberry’s very sleek interpretation of the footie category, for which English footballers Phil Foden and Eberechi Eze were at the forefront. The duo, both donning looks from the brand’s latest collection, were the first to take part in what will ultimately become a series of football-themed portraits that aim to explore the connection between football and British culture.

While Foden said in his statement that fashion was important to him, Eze added that he was proud to partner with Burberry, a label that has supported both him and his foundation in the past. He added that with this, Burberry was “helping [his] community and inspiring the next generation with career experience and education, which [they] will continue to build”.

Burberry and the Eze Foundation teamed up in May, when the duo worked with students from Eze’s former secondary school, John Roan School. Here, the brand hosted sixth form students for an ‘Inspiration Day’ where they shadowed different employees from the company, gaining insight into the workings of a luxury house.

Puma

In what is the first global brand campaign to be launched by Puma in 10 years, the sportswear giant unveiled the ‘Forever. Faster. - See The Game Like We Do’ concept which came with the goal of positioning the label “as the fastest sports brand in the world”. Framed as more of an overarching campaign for the array of sports-related events taking place this summer, the imagery and videos to go along with the concept feature both football stars and Olympic athletes each positioned to emphasise speed, which Puma said has always been its “vantage point”.

Speaking on the campaign in a release, Puma’s vice president brand and marketing, Richard Teyssier, said this was the brand’s “biggest marketing investment ever”. He added: “It is the first time that Puma has one single message – Forever. Faster. – throughout the entire year and across all performance categories [...]. The holistic brand message is emotional and distinctive to make sure it connects and resonates with our target consumers.”

AliExpress

Alongside the announcement that AliExpress was to be the first exclusive global e-commerce partner of Euro 2024, the Chinese marketplace giant also revealed that football legend David Beckham was to be its new global brand ambassador in anticipation of the event. Through the partnership, Beckham has become the face of the ‘Score More with AliExpress’ campaign, through which users of the marketplace will be able to take part in interactive online games, running until July 14, in order to win prizes.

Marks & Spencer

Marks & Spencer reaffirmed its partnership with the Football Association (FA) for this season, calling up Manchester United player Marcus Rashford to head the campaign for its FA England menswear collection. Next to Connor Gallagher, Aaron Ramsdale and other members of UK national teams, Rashford brandished a new “sports casual” approach to looks that the official England team will wear during the Euros. According to the retailer, the 16-piece line aims to “reflect a modern football team”, with both tailoring classics sitting among lounge-style separates.

The collection and accompanying campaign comes in addition to a series of official licensed T-shirts for Euro 2024, including looks dedicated to the competing teams of Scotland and England. The UEFA Cup logo takes a central position on the generalised cotton designs, each available for both adults and children.

MCM

There are some premium brands also making their mark with their own iterations on the football trend. Germany’s MCM is one of those doing so through the launch of an exclusively designed collection for the tournament. The line itself was unveiled in a campaign starring German national player Jonathan Tah, who donned the six piece collection of both clothing and accessories, including a weekender bag and retro-look football jersey. In addition to this, the brand also launched a limited edition of six backpacks with different country designs.

Adidas

Sportswear brand Adidas was another to expand on an ongoing brand campaign for its most recent contribution to sports mania. Bringing together football-associated brand ambassadors, the latest addition to its campaign highlights both South America’s football competition and Euro 2024 while exploring the question of how “football can bring an added level of pressure to each player’s game”.

The new brand film, featuring both stars and trailblazers of the sport, aims to inspire next generation athletes to “overcome pressure and fuel their love for the beautiful game”, encouraging them to focus on the positive cry ‘you got this’ when they walk onto the pitch. From Lionel Messi to David Beckham to Florian Wirtz, there is no shortage of famous faces among the participants involved, each of whom sport Adidas-branded gear, including its new F50 football boots that will appear on players during the Euros.