For fans lucky enough to make their way to a World Cup game this season, they might spot cheering fans, overpriced snacks and, of course, soccer. One thing they will not see is logos from non-FIFA sponsors—even if their name is on the stadium.
But one brand is leaning into this limitation.
Due to a “debranding” mandate from FIFA, companies with naming rights to stadiums across the 16 host cities in Mexico, Canada, and the United States are seeing their names and logos temporarily removed from the venues.
Consider MetLife Stadium in New Jersey. Since MetLife is not an official FIFA sponsor, the insurance company’s name was physically covered on the venue, with the stadium renamed after the host city: New York New Jersey Stadium.
Likewise, Mercedes-Benz’s logo was covered in Atlanta, Gillette’s was covered in the Boston area, and SoFi’s in Los Angeles County.
“Give a raise to the marketing folks”
While these companies took the quicker approach, one brand is standing out for embracing the cover-up in its own way.
Levi’s, which holds the naming rights for Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara (where the San Francisco 49ers play), also had its logo covered up. The venue’s name is being temporarily changed to the San Francisco Bay Area Stadium.
But in this case, the iconic logo was hidden more creatively, with its bat-shaped polygon logo wrapped in white—a reminder to the world that Levi’s logo is so recognizable that it does not need more than the silhouette.
Social media quickly caught on, celebrating an out-of-the-box solution to a restrictive rule.
“I hope they give a raise to the marketing folks because it was iconic,” a user said on X.
Others pointed out a missed opportunity—why not use denim as the cover instead of white fabric? Still, users celebrated the ingenuity behind the solution.
“Thinking outside of the box got them the opportunity to own this moment and get more eyeballs than official sponsors,” another added.
Levi’s went on to lean into the cover-up, changing its logo on its social media accounts to feature the white-wrapped logo.
In an Instagram post, the denim company also poked fun at the situation, with a video of the wrapped logo at the stadium and the caption: “Welcoming the world to the beautiful [redacted] stadium!”
Users joined in on the joke as well, with one commenting on the Instagram post: “Where to get the [redacted] T-shirt? Sign me up.”
Commenters didn’t just celebrate the brand’s wit, but also the yearslong effort it takes to make a brand recognizable, even when stripped down to its most basic form.
“That’s decades of brand equity compounded into a single visual asset,” a user said on Threads. “The logo disappeared. The brand didn’t.”