FOX Sports Sells a World Cup Dream With Tom Brady and Zlatan Ibrahimović

With the FIFA World Cup 2026 set to kick off on June 11, FOX Sports is launching a campaign that hopes to give viewers a sliver of hope.

Together with Special US and director Lance Acord of Park Pictures, the network has debuted its hero spot “Miracle," a film that imagines a future where the US Men’s National Team lifts the trophy on home soil.

The campaign pulls in familiar names to sell that possibility.

Tom Brady, Zlatan Ibrahimović, Bruce Arena, and Mike Eruzione all appear alongside current USMNT players.

This move turns the spot into a clear celebrity marketing play to reach sports fans outside of just football audiences.

"The 2026 World Cup is going to be an event unlike anything this country has ever seen before," said Robert Gottlieb, president of marketing at FOX Sports.

"We couldn’t think of a better way to capture the American spirit than dreaming of what it might look like if the US won it all."

Overall, FOX Sports played with a possibility and built a campaign around that shared belief. 

Fans already know where to go for match analysis and player stats, so the network chose to focus on the tournament as a national moment worth rallying around. 

When Fantasy Feels Real

Set to the tune of Elvis Presley's "The Impossible Dream," the film opens in the 97th minute of a World Cup final.

Christian Pulisic delivers the winning goal, and the moment explodes into a nationwide reaction.

What follows is a rapid montage of imagined consequences.

Times Square billboards swap out Michael Strahan for Tyler Adams.

Weston McKennie appears on US currency.

Texas runs short of beer, and bars, homes, and public spaces erupt as if the country has collectively crossed into a new reality.

Tom Brady collects on a bet by shaving Zlatan Ibrahimović’s head, and kids idolize players as national heroes.

Then, the film snaps back to the present day.

A quiet bar conversation questions whether any of it could actually happen.

Eruzione delivers the closing line: “You don’t believe in miracles?”

The spot debuted during Major League Baseball programming on May 2, with more executions expected to roll out across FOX Sports in the coming weeks.

The network will air all 104 matches of the tournament across FOX and FS1, with streaming available via FOX One in 4K.

FOX Sports’ World Cup Strategy

For brands preparing for major live events, FOX Sports knows a thing or two about how to build anticipation early and emotionally:

• Emotion drives big moments. Big events benefit from emotional framing, especially when the possibilities feel exciting to audiences.
• Celebrity power grows in reach. Campaigns featuring well-known personalities can generate higher visibility and engagement.
• Consistency keeps campaigns alive. Brand efforts that tap into multiple touchpoints help sustain momentum before and during live programming windows.

The 2026 tournament is set to be the widest-reaching World Cup in the competition's history, projecting that around 6 billion people will engage with it in some form.

This highlights how important it is for broadcast services like FOX Sports to make the most out of a once-in-a-lifetime marketing opportunity.   

Our Take: Can You Make People Care Before Kickoff?

Enough hype surrounds the World Cup, so what FOX is doing here is planting a hypothetical scenario. 

It's selling a possibility that people can sit with for weeks before the first whistle: What if the USA team actually wins?

If the US team makes a real run, this ad will age beautifully. If they don’t, it still gives FOX something just as valuable.

And that's a reason for people to care early, argue about it, and tune into the channel. 

In other news, Marriott Bonvoy and Visa launched a global World Cup campaign starring Erling Haaland and Vinicius Júnior centered on travel and fan experiences.

Global brands building sports campaigns need creative partners who understand how to carry a single concept across markets and formats.

Explore these top creative agencies in our directory.