Visa taps Jason Sudeikis, soccer stars for ‘Tap In’ World Cup campaign

The tap-in goal—a close-range, light-touch shot—isn’t exactly the most celebrated move in soccer. But it’s the star of “Tap In,” Visa’s latest World Cup campaign.

A FIFA sponsor for 19 years, Visa equates the tap-in goal to the act of tapping a credit card to pay for a purchase. It’s meant to convey the message that Visa strives to make life easier for its customers.

“We want to articulate how we are the brand that is enabling [people] to tap into the excitement of the FIFA World Cup in ways that we hope feel very personal and immediate, and also are culturally relevant,” Andrea Fairchild, Visa’s SVP of global sponsorship strategy, told Marketing Brew.

While the tap-in goal may be understated, the campaign itself is less so; the ad features several international soccer stars and Ted Lasso himself, and is part of Visa’s biggest-ever sponsorship activation, according to Fairchild, but it’s not a straight brand awareness play.

Light touch

The 60-second spot opens on Ted Lasso star and cocreator Jason Sudeikis watching soccer, specifically Spanish forward Lamine Yamal (who’s currently sidelined with a hamstring injury) scoring a tap-in goal. The move inspires Sudeikis to tap his Visa card on a script, which turns into tickets. He turns a bag of trash into a bag of soccer balls, a hockey net into a soccer net, and so on, as he travels across host countries.

The ad, which has run on broadcast, digital, and social platforms since Monday, is paired with a giveaway that lets Visa cardholders in the US and Canada enter to win prizes like World Cup tickets, signed memorabilia, and limited-edition merch whenever there’s a tap-in goal during the tournament.

• The spot also stars USMNT great Christian Pulisic, Mexican goalie Jorge Campos, and voice commentator Andrés Cantor, as well as Norwegian striker Erling Haaland, who’s been called the “tap-in merchant.”
• The athletes lend a global feel to the campaign, something brands across categories are striving for during this World Cup.
• Sudeikis, “a true fan of the game,” adds an element of relatability and additional cultural cachet, Fairchild said.

“Bringing the icons and legends together, along with some humanity and humor…it’s going to make the platform seem more accessible and relatable to the fans,” she said.

Net positive

Visa is hardly a brand lacking recognition. It’s been a regular fixture on Kantar’s BrandZ report in the past several years, and has 96% brand awareness with 76% favorability, according to Morning Consult data collected over the last year among more than 35,000 respondents. In terms of KPI tracking, that means Fairchild and her team are largely focused on making the brand seem useful, as opposed to simply boosting awareness, she told us.

The World Cup—a “39-day pop-up economy,” as Fairchild put it—is an ideal opportunity for a financial services brand to shift consumer perceptions by helping to stand up that ecosystem.

“It is [about] ensuring that deeper connection is really brought to life around the access,” Fairchild said.

Ticket giveaways are part of that effort, but since not every soccer fan will attend a World Cup match in person, the campaign includes creator partnerships and events like soccer-driven art installations in host cities across New York and New Jersey, LA, Mexico City, and Toronto, to offer experiences outside of games.

Community impact work is another way sponsors, including Visa, are aiming to make their campaigns resonate with local communities: The “Tap In” campaign includes a $600,000 donation to three nonprofits in the US, Mexico, and Canada, which all aid local business owners in the host countries.

“How are we, as a brand, enhancing that fan engagement beyond the stadium branding?” Fairchild said. “It’s more than awareness.”