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The World Cup is well underway, and just like every four years, things are taking an all too familiar shape. England have provided their compulsory underwhelming performance on two occasions (well ahead of the scheduled knock out stage disappointment) and we find ourselves barraged with ads eluding in some way to what is taking place In South Africa.

Suffice to say the World Cup bandwagon is well and truly bursting with brands eager to capitalise on the benefits of association with the biggest sporting event on the globe.

Those companies who chose the official route (such as Adidas, Coca Cola, Mars and Budweiser), and shelled out millions to FIFA ensuring they became the exclusive sponsors of the tournament, have been left with a bitter taste in their mouths, brought on by the success of rival brands who have shunned legitimate ties in favour of ambush marketing techniques.

Nike’s “Write the Future” ad has had overwhelming success, with over 16 million hits on Youtube, viewers have gone online to watch Nike endorsees Rooney and Ronaldo, two of the biggest names on show in South Africa. Adidas’ offering lags far behind with just under a 1/4 of Nike’s viewing figures.

The most controversial Ad has to be Nestle Kit Kat’s “Cross Your Fingers” campaign, which has ruffled the feathers of official sponsors Mars, to such a degree that they have threatened legal action, although ambush marketing has previously been deemed perfectly legal.

Other brands capitalising on World Cup ties through guerrilla tactics include Carlsberg, whose unapologetically patriotic “Probably the Best Team Talk in the World” ad (Saatchi & Saatchi) included appearances from a host of sporting legends, celebrities and national heroes such as Sir Ranulph Fiennes in a 90 second epic.

Carlsberg also presented fans with the chance to win the opportunity to present their own ‘Best Team Talk” to England stars and the Internet was swarmed with videos of fans delivering their own inspirational messages.

All these efforts by Carlsberg have culminated in the overwhelming overshadowing of Official World Cup beer, Budweiser.

Social media has played a huge part in the success of Nike and Carlsberg’s ads, with research by Nielson Co. finding that Nike “was mentioned in 30.2 percent of the English-language messages online tracked by Nielsen from May 7 to June 6, making it the most talked about company in relation to the World Cup.”- CNBC.com

It seems Mars are on the warpath and there are many calling for stricter guidelines and punishments, for those who use such tactics, I’m inclined to disagree.

If anything the anger shown by Mars and the like should perhaps be turned introspectively, as Nestle, Nike and Carlsberg have achieved everything the official sponsors dreamed of, whilst at the same time avoiding emptying their coffers to pay for legitimate sponsorship. For this they should be applauded not vilified.