Erling Haaland is about to help the UK decide what goes under the Christmas tree.
Sports Direct and Nike have recruited the football star to front "Unwrap Potential," a Christmas campaign from independent agency Chaos x Magic.
Haaland is joined by Olympic sprinter Dina Asher-Smith, England captain Leah Williamson, rugby star Henry Pollock, and Aitch.
The brands call the group "Athlete Intelligence," a team of athletes and entertainers who help shoppers recognize someone’s potential and choose a present to match.
Each star has a gift lane.
Haaland covers young footballers with scoring dreams, while Asher-Smith advises people ready to find their pace on the track.
Williamson speaks to the next wave of players, Pollock handles all-round sports fans and rising talent, and Aitch covers trainers and streetwear for the fashion-minded.
The lineup is celebrity marketing at its core, aimed at a specific buying moment, with each name pointing shoppers toward a different recipient.
The creative idea focuses on the person giving the gift.
Many presents confirm who someone already is, while the best ones hint at who that person could become.
A well-chosen gift can spark a new passion, build confidence, or help someone take a first step they never expected to take.
For Frasers Group, the campaign also shows how far its Elevation Strategy now reaches into advertising.
The retailer says deeper brand partnerships and a stronger product mix sit at the center of that plan, and Nike is one of the partners it names most often.
Michael Murray, CEO of Frasers Group, the parent company of Sports Direct, said the timing carries weight for the retailer:
"Christmas is our biggest trading moment of the year, and our first-ever brand exclusive Christmas ad with Nike is a powerful example of the Elevation Strategy in action."
Nike’s César García, VP/GM for EMEA, tied the work to participation in sport.
He believes in sport's power to "change how we see ourselves and what we believe is possible."
Gift Advisers Spot a Niece’s Potential
Directed by Tyrus Hill via Park Pictures UK, the 60-second hero film follows an uncle who walks into Sports Direct to find a present for his niece.
He has no idea that a team of expert gift advisers is already working on his behalf.
Using their Athlete Intelligence, the advisers read her potential and steer him to a pair of Haaland’s Nike Phantom 6 Low football boots.
Aitch gets his own storyline, in which he asks the experts for help choosing presents for his sisters.
Five 10-second films support the hero spot, each covering a gifting scenario for runners, hybrid trainers or footballers.
The campaign runs across TV, social, digital, out-of-home advertising and Sports Direct stores, with shorter edits and additional assets.
Inside UK stores, ELEVATE, the Frasers Group retail media network that reaches more than 32 million customers, carries the campaign on digital screens, connected TV, and OOH placements.
Gifting Is Half the Festive Basket
A survey reported by the Yorkshire Post projects record festive spending of £93.76bn in the UK this year.
Presents are expected to account for 50% of household festive spending.
This share gives the retailer a strong reason to put advice for the person holding the wallet at the center of its Christmas message.
Sports Direct also has ground to recover at home.
BusinessCloud reports that sales in the Frasers Group UK sports division fell 4.7% in the 52 weeks ended April 26, 2026.
A strong festive season would help the division win back some of that lost ground.
Three insights follow from the campaign.
- Match each spokesperson to a recipient: Give every star a clear gift lane, as Haaland, Asher-Smith and Aitch each have, so shoppers see themselves in one of them.
- Write for the unsure giver: Build the message around a shopper like the uncle in the hero film, who holds the budget and needs help.
- Put the advice where the purchase happens: Carry gift guides and screen placements into stores, as ELEVATE does across Sports Direct locations.
Sports Direct’s Christmas results will depend on whether shoppers trust athlete advice enough to act on it in store.
Our Take: Can Haaland Make Christmas Shopping Less Stressful?
Christmas shopping is dread with a receipt attached, and what this campaign offers is relief from it.
Haaland makes a smart voice of reassurance.
Few people argue with a man who scores for a living, making him the perfect representative for this campaign.
Our worry is the promise that a gift shows someone what they could be, which is a lot to ask of a pair of football boots.
In the end, we will judge the gift guides by whether they sound like a friend with opinions or a catalogue with a famous face, as most celebrity-led campaigns do.
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