Can You Identify the Brand if It’s Covered?

The 2026 FIFA World Cup is a go, and people from all over the world are invested in who takes the crown. Levi’s Stadium in California, one of the many stadiums that are hosting the matches this year, was told they had to cover up their logo due to sponsorship restrictions. 

Ironically, this moment of what was meant to be ‘unseen’ generated more brand awareness towards Levi’s, creating a hilarious social media moment.

Logo creation creates a major part of a brand’s identity, as it is the frontline to consumer recognition. Simple and unique logo shapes and outlines are the ones that are usually most remembered. We can all agree on what the Mcdonald’s, Nike and Apple logos are- this is because their logos are simple and easily recognised.

The unique shape of the Levi’s brand made it easily identifiable, even with a white sheet covering it. What was meant to be a cover-up crisis, turned into opportunity. 

The owned social media accounts for Levi’s, turned it into a mocking and hilarious moment, temporarily using the covered-up version of the logo as their profile picture. This goes to show how the brand can still be recognisable even if it doesn’t explicitly say ‘Levi’s’ as it does in their original logo. 

Thousands of fans attending the FIFA World Cup matches in person at the Levi’s Stadium, gave the brand wide coverage of earned media without even trying. This has turned into a global viral moment, being shared through Instagram and TikTok users.

It became so iconic, that even other branded stadiums hosting the matches have turned it into a hilarious trend. Gillette was one of the first companies to intentionally mock the sponsorship restrictions. Gillette social media accounts shared an AI generated video of the logo being covered with shaving cream, followed by the sound “How are they going to know…?”

This hilarious internet moment has people commenting “What will Mercedes do next?” as they are another stadium that has to abide by these sponsorship restrictions. 

What was meant to be a temporary stadium rebranding for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, has given Levi’s an opportunity to become more recognisable than if it were to be a sponsor. The video posted to their TikTok and Instagram account of the covered-up logo, achieved a combined 13.8 million views, which resulted in 148,393 new Instagram followers within 5 days of the video being posted.   

I can’t name any World Cup sponsors, however I could tell you the ones that aren’t. 

Written by Alyssa Attard, PR & Influencer Assistant @ InsideOut PR