Ahead of the World Cup, Powerade wants to remind athletes of all levels, from professionals to everyday players, that success starts with the right preparation and proper hydration.
As the official sports drink of the FIFA World Cup 26, Powerade is launching a new global campaign, “Power Your Fate,” created by WPP Open X. At the center of the campaign is a film that features soccer stars Lamine Yamal of Spain and Rodrygo Goes of Brazil.
The ad shows Yamal and Goes practicing on the soccer pitch and fueling with Powerade, emphasizing their rigorous preparation before cutting to dynamic scenes of them playing in professional matches. It then highlights everyday players—some playing on dirt fields, others in urban settings—to celebrate the spirit of the sport across the globe.
Over the images, a dramatic voiceover recites an original poem that opens with, “While the world sleeps, the legends rise. To meet their fate, with open eyes.”
“The idea is to be inclusive and to inspire all athletes,” Mickael Vinet, vp of global sports, music and entertainment marketing & partnerships at Coca-Cola, told ADWEEK. “Whether they are a professional football player or everyday athlete, we are inspiring every athlete to take control of their outcomes and empower them at all levels. The message is the same whoever you are: Preparation matters, hydration matters.”
The campaign will launch across social, digital, outdoor, TV, and OLV, in addition to stadium branding and fan activations.
The Coca-Cola Company, which owns Powerade, has been a partner of the FIFA World Cup since 1974, becoming an official sponsor in 1978.
Close collaboration with athletes
Yamal and Goes were first introduced as Powerade ambassadors in 2025 as part of the brand’s previous campaign, “Pause is Power,” which spoke to the mental wellbeing of high-level athletes. According to Vinet, “Power Your Fate” is a continuation of “Pause is Power.”
“It continues the commitment as a sports drink to support athletes throughout their journey, physically and mentally,” Vinet said. “With ‘Power Your Fate,’ you can control your destiny and the way you prepare.”
Vinet explained that both these campaigns come from close partnership with the talent. He and his team make sure the product and brand resonate with the athletes on an “authentic and genuine” level.
“It’s really a journey from the very first moment we approach talent,” Vinet said. “Sharing with them who we are as a company, what is the brand, what are the products, and ensuring that they believe in what we are trying to do. If they don’t, I don’t think we should continue.”
This is especially important because many of these athletes create their own content. For “Power Your Fate,” Yamal and Goes will also post dedicated social media content giving fans an inside look into their personal routines as they prepare for gameday.
Becoming part of culture
Powerade has also partnered with street portrait artist Devon Rodriguez, who will create art on Powerade Squeeze Bottles in collaboration with the athletes. For Vinet, the partnership is an opportunity for Powerade to embed itself more deeply in culture and reach fans—who have many passions outside of sports—on another level.
“All these passions converge, and the challenge and opportunity as a brand is how we engage in mixing and converging those passions,” Vinet said. “In order to be relevant, we need to have this cultural element which requires us to be authentic.”
Much like the brand’s approach with its athletes, Rodriguez was given creative freedom to design the bottles. A social-only film will feature Rodriguez’s artistic process as he paints Lamine Yamal on a Powerade Squeeze Bottle.
“From a brand point of view, we have an environment and a territory, but we need to let the creativity go because that’s where it becomes much more powerful and impactful at the end,” Vinet said.
