The ad has a ’90s feel, but with a modern twist. It hits all the right notes with big names like Jude Bellingham, Lamine Yamal, David Beckham and even Lionel Messi.
Adidas has released its 2026 FIFA World Cup ad campaign, ‘Backyard Legends’.
The ad features actor Timothee Chalamet, driving in a car with Trinity Rodman, Jude Bellingham, and Lamine Yamal, to a ‘street rules’ football game against a legendary local team, which hasn’t lost since 1996 (or 1995, depending on who you ask).
This crew has even faced David Beckham, who makes an appearance (buzzcut included) as well as Zinedine Zidane, and Alessandro Del Piero.
Chalamet tells the tale of the underdog team facing off against the footballing legends, who eventually ran out of opponents – so much so that he had to recruit the three current players to put them in their place.
Then, Messi appears (albeit briefly) to approve of his team selection.
The ad ends there, without featuring any of the actual proposed match. It’s clear the story is within the journey, rather than the destination.
Leaders take
This campaign hits all the right notes to capitalise on the love for ’90s nostalgia that football fans often cry for. The 1990s bred iconic players, kits, and culture – and Adidas understood this is an easy way into the hearts of football fans and broader audiences alike.
The performance from Chalamet does feel a little like an extension of his Marty Supreme tour, where he played an erratic and over zealous table tennis player.
The glaring flaw in this ad is the poor executed AI de-aging imposed on the players – including a host of haircuts from Beckham. The AI augmentation comes across as cheap, lazy, and unnecessary. Ads like this are so popular and successful because they take work, and are made meticulously with producers and visual effects artists that truly care about their work – which is not the message that the very clear use of AI portrays.
