TCL FIFA WC ’26 - Match-Day Campaign
Campaign System / Character Design / Sports Marketing
Watch the Big Game, Bigger.
An approved tournament campaign concept for TCL’s 115-inch TV, developed as part of the Spread Factory team around a playful cast of country-coded mascots, match-day energy and a larger-than-life viewing promise. The campaign turns FIFA fixtures into a character-led branded world that can scale across kickoff films, social assets, and ongoing match promos.
Finished TCL kickoff film
My contribution: concept, script and story, art direction, character design and animation.
My contribution: concept, script and story, art direction, character design and animation.
My contribution: concept, script and story, art direction, character design and animation.
Overview
A character-led sports campaign designed to make TCL’s 115-inch TV the biggest screen in the tournament story.
A character-led sports campaign designed to make TCL’s 115-inch TV the biggest screen in the tournament story.
A character-led sports campaign designed to make TCL’s 115-inch TV the biggest screen in the tournament story.
Industry - Consumer Electronics / Sports Marketing / Retail Campaigns
Industry - Consumer Electronics / Sports Marketing / Retail Campaigns
Client - TCL
Client - TCL
Team - Spread Factory
Team - Spread Factory
Role - Campaign Concept, Script and Story, Art Direction, Character Design, Animation and Social Creative
Role - Campaign Concept, Script and Story, Art Direction, Character Design, Animation and Social Creative
Scope - Campaign Worldbuilding, Character System, Kickoff Film, Match-Day Visuals and Localised Social Rollout
Scope - Campaign Worldbuilding, Character System, Kickoff Film, Match-Day Visuals and Localised Social Rollout
Status - Commissioned and approved; kickoff film produced and launched
Status - Commissioned and approved; kickoff film produced and launched
Timeline - 2026
Timeline - 2026
The World
A Tournament Story Built Around a Wrong Turn
A Tournament Story Built Around a Wrong Turn
A Tournament Story Built Around a Wrong Turn
A football campaign built as a world, not just a fixture template.
A football campaign built as a world, not just a fixture template.
A football campaign built as a world, not just a fixture template.
The campaign imagines a group of fan mascots arriving in Africa, convinced that the World Cup is happening there. Each character carries the energy of a football nation and the obsession of fandom. What starts as a journey toward the tournament turns into a comic misunderstanding, and finally into the campaign payoff when they find themselves in front of a massive TCL screen and realise they can still watch it all, only bigger.
The campaign imagines a group of fan mascots arriving in Africa, convinced that the World Cup is happening there. Each character carries the energy of a football nation and the obsession of fandom. What starts as a journey toward the tournament turns into a comic misunderstanding, and finally into the campaign payoff when they find themselves in front of a massive TCL screen and realise they can still watch it all, only bigger.
The campaign imagines a group of fan mascots arriving in Africa, convinced that the World Cup is happening there. Each character carries the energy of a football nation and the obsession of fandom. What starts as a journey toward the tournament turns into a comic misunderstanding, and finally into the campaign payoff when they find themselves in front of a massive TCL screen and realise they can still watch it all, only bigger.
The Characters
A Cast Built from Teams, Fans, and Personality
A Cast Built from Teams, Fans, and Personality
The campaign uses a growing cast of animal mascots to embody teams, fan culture, and the emotional chaos of tournament football. Each one is designed to be instantly readable and expandable across fixtures, formats, and future campaign moments.
The campaign uses a growing cast of animal mascots to embody teams, fan culture, and the emotional chaos of tournament football. Each one is designed to be instantly readable and expandable across fixtures, formats, and future campaign moments.
The campaign uses a growing cast of animal mascots to embody teams, fan culture, and the emotional chaos of tournament football. Each one is designed to be instantly readable and expandable across fixtures, formats, and future campaign moments.
Zebra representing Argentina / Messi fandom
Zebra representing Argentina / Messi fandom
Eagle representing Germany / Neuer fandom
Eagle representing Germany / Neuer fandom
Yellow giraffe representing Brazil / Neymar fandom
Yellow giraffe representing Brazil / Neymar fandom
Red bull España representing Spain / Yamal fandom
Red bull España representing Spain / Yamal fandom
Rooster of Barcelos representing Portugal / CR7 fandom
Rooster of Barcelos representing Portugal / CR7 fandom
The Kickoff Film
The Journey That Starts the Campaign
The Journey That Starts the Campaign
The finished kickoff film opens in an African landscape with Afro-inspired music and a custom campaign jingle. A painter prepares the fan mascots in their national identities before they all race toward a football at the edge of a cliff. They collide in the scramble, fall together, and send the ball into motion, creating the campaign’s kickoff moment. The larger story reveals that they have all arrived in the wrong place, only to discover that the tournament can still be experienced in full on TCL’s giant 115-inch screen.
The finished kickoff film opens in an African landscape with Afro-inspired music and a custom campaign jingle. A painter prepares the fan mascots in their national identities before they all race toward a football at the edge of a cliff. They collide in the scramble, fall together, and send the ball into motion, creating the campaign’s kickoff moment. The larger story reveals that they have all arrived in the wrong place, only to discover that the tournament can still be experienced in full on TCL’s giant 115-inch screen.
The finished kickoff film opens in an African landscape with Afro-inspired music and a custom campaign jingle. A painter prepares the fan mascots in their national identities before they all race toward a football at the edge of a cliff. They collide in the scramble, fall together, and send the ball into motion, creating the campaign’s kickoff moment. The larger story reveals that they have all arrived in the wrong place, only to discover that the tournament can still be experienced in full on TCL’s giant 115-inch screen.
Proposed Match-Day Rollout
Built for Fixtures, Hype, and Fast Turnaround
Built for Fixtures, Hype, and Fast Turnaround
The campaign system is designed to plug into live match moments through fixture promos, character swaps, local-language messaging, and product-led layouts. The 115-inch TV remains the hero product, while each creative keeps the campaign fresh through different mascot matchups and team energies.
The campaign system is designed to plug into live match moments through fixture promos, character swaps, local-language messaging, and product-led layouts. The 115-inch TV remains the hero product, while each creative keeps the campaign fresh through different mascot matchups and team energies.
The campaign system is designed to plug into live match moments through fixture promos, character swaps, local-language messaging, and product-led layouts. The 115-inch TV remains the hero product, while each creative keeps the campaign fresh through different mascot matchups and team energies.
