The FIFA World Cup is underway – and fans are exposed to more advertising during the games than ever.
While the Games have always been filled with sponsors and advertisers, fans complain 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 below them.
This ad saturation goes beyond just what people watch on TV. According to some people who work on the games, that extends to what they can wear while at work.
What was this woman supposed to do with 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 Levi’s — oh, sorry. At the ‘San Francisco Bay Area Stadium,'” she begins, referring to The stadium was renamed the World Cup. “They had emailed us and said we couldn’t carry any branded items, which I get.”
Unfortunately for Leilani, she says she accidentally wore a pair of shoes with a prominent Nike logo. That’s why, she says, management “handed me tape and they said, ‘You have to cover it up. It’s not Adidas’.”
Leilani then shows off her shoes. They are completely wrapped in black tape.
“That’s what they made me do,” she says. Looking at her shoes, she is in disbelief and sarcastically says to the management, “Brother, it’s not that serious!”
Why did they make her do this?
Seam BroBible previously mentioned about Levi’s Stadium- also known as the San Francisco Bay Area Stadium – FIFA is incredibly protective of which brands are put in the spotlight during World Cup matches. This is why any visible brand that does not sponsor the games, even if only present incidentally, is covered when FIFA World Cup matches take place.
In Leilani’s case, she probably ran afoul of FIFA’s sponsorship with adidas. On FIFA websitewrites the organization that “FIFA officials, referees, volunteers and the entire youth program (player escort, ball crew, flag bearers) wear Adidas products from head to toe.”
Allowing someone to wear a non-Adidas product is in violation FIFA’s policy that the stadium must be “clean” for sponsorswhich means free from 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 Levi’s Stadium, the company has 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 during Leilani’s video, Levi’s left a comment that read, “They got you too, huh.”
Commentators say it is exaggerated
In the comments section, some users made jokes about the situation.
“Just don’t do it,” one commenter wrote.
Others questioned how it was even possible to follow a “no branding” directive for shoes, given that many sneaker brands have prominent branding.
“How do you not wear a designer shoe? HOWWWW,” asked one user.
“Ok but literally everything is a brand so what do they want you to do!?” another echoed.
“They need to provide the full uniform if that’s the expectation,” declared a third.
Finally, some users said that FIFA simply took things too far.
“They do way too much,” shared another TikToker. “Nobody wants to look at a worker’s Nikes and be like, ‘ohh, I HAVE to buy Nikes now.'”
@nvmjvlissa #fifa #levisstadium @Nike
BroBible reached out to FIFA via email and Leilani via email and direct message on Instagram.
The post Woman works at World Cup at Levi’s Stadium in San Francisco. Then she makes a big mistake – she wears Nike shoes: ‘They Got You Too’ appeared first Bridge Bible.
Leave a Reply