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Backyard Legends World Cup Spot

PR Campaign

Thursday 7th May, 2026

Adidas released a cinematic five‑minute film, “Backyard Legends,” starring Timothée Chalamet who assembles a dream football squad — with cameos from Lionel Messi, Bad Bunny and numerous past and present football stars — as a playful, attention‑seeking piece ahead of the World Cup to generate cultural buzz rather than promote a specific product.

Why it worked: It hijacked the World Cup news cycle with a celebrity crossover heist narrative, delivering a premiere‑length trailer journalists could cover as culture news.

The lesson: Consider packaging your story as a short, cinematic “event” tied to a looming tentpole, with an unexpected crossover cast and a simple, beatable quest.

Adidas

1 Source:

Coverage over time

How this story spread across the media

Publication	Headline	Date
fashionnetwork.com	Adidas launches inspirational Backyard Legends campaign ahead of World Cup with star-studded cast - FashionNetwork India	Saturday 9th May, 2026

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Every day, brands launch PR campaigns and the media covers them. We scan lots of different news sources and use AI to spot the campaigns behind the stories, and show you which ones are getting the most traction right now. Think of it as a live leaderboard of what's working in PR.

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What does "ranked by coverage" mean?

It's the number of articles. Simple as that. We're not weighting by outlet size or reach - just raw volume. The campaigns at the top are the ones generating the most stories right now.

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