Lay’s is leaning into intimate, tech-enabled fan engagement as it rolls out a global push around the FIFA World Cup, revealing a star-powered follow-up to its “No Lay’s, No Game” platform that combines celebrity stunts with a bespoke WhatsApp community now numbering more than 4 million followers. The snacks marketer — a global World Cup sponsor for the first time — says the campaign is designed to drive at-home watch parties while building direct relationships with consumers across markets.
The new creative features soccer legends David Beckham, Thierry Henry, Lionel Messi and Alexia Putellas alongside actor Steve Carell in a months-in-the-making stunt filmed in the parking lot of a supermarket in southern Florida. In the spot, celebrities flag down real shoppers and hand out invites to an exclusive watch party to those whose grocery bags contain Lay’s products; authentic reactions and surprise moments were captured for the ads. Agencies credited on the work include Slap Global, Hungry Man, Washington Square Films, Omnicom Public Relations and We Are Social.
“We’ve taken it to another level,” Alexis Porter, vice president of marketing for international foods at Lay’s, said of the effort. Porter said Carell was added to the roster to make the football-focused creative more approachable for casual viewers, noting the brand wanted to represent both die-hard fans and people “who’re there for the snacks and the good time.” The campaign is being executed across 90 global markets on digital, social and broadcast channels, and Lay’s plans additional activations including in-stadium experiences, localized fan gatherings and limited-time flavors linked to the tournament’s buzz.
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A central and novel element of the campaign is a WhatsApp group chat created specifically for Lay’s, which the brand says required WhatsApp to build a new product capability. Debuting in March, the chat functions as a curated social hub where celebrity ambassadors post, fans can react and content such as recipe ideas, games and planning tips for watch parties are distributed. Porter emphasized the messages are not generated by artificial intelligence and described the approach as “scaled intimacy” — offering the feel of a private friend group while preserving control and safety.
That control is explicit: followers cannot post freely in the group, a moderation measure Lay’s says was necessary both for safety around high-profile participants such as Messi and to manage the quality of the interaction. The company frames the WhatsApp activation as a source of first-party data and qualitative insight it can use to refine future marketing, both for football-related campaigns and the broader brand. “This will inform other things we do on the brand,” Porter said, pointing to the potential to deliver more curated experiences based on direct consumer signaling.
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Lay’s move echoes a broader trend of brands shifting spend into closed or semi-closed messaging environments to create deeper, more measurable relationships with consumers. By combining celebrity-led mass-reach advertising with a controlled, large-scale messaging channel, the snacks maker is betting that a hybrid of spectacle and intimacy will translate into stronger engagement during a cultural moment that includes preparations for the 2026 World Cup, which will be co-hosted in North America.
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