Pringles, the number one large sharing crisps brand in the UK[1], has launched a new football campaign starring England goalkeeper Jordan Pickford and Scotland midfielder John McGinn, using sporting rivalry to reinforce its role in the summer sharing occasion.
The campaign, running under the banner ‘Even Rivals Pass The Pringles’, is built on the insight that football loyalties can divide households, friendship groups and nations, but Pringles are one of the few things fans are still willing to share – even when they are backing opposite sides. With Pickford and McGinn, Pringles has a pairing that carries the rivalry for it, using the existing tension between two recognisable football identities to create a simple premise with mass appeal: the fans might be divided, but the rituals around watching football are often shared.
The activity will run across social-first content and retailer activation, designed to meet fans in the places football conversation and matchday habits naturally play out. For Pringles, the campaign works because it starts with a real matchday behaviour: the tube being passed between people who may not agree on the score, the team or the referee, but are still watching the game together.
It follows a series of football-led activations from the brand, including recent work with Cole Palmer for Pringles Hot, as Pringles continues to build a more consistent presence in the sporting world. This always-on approach is critical during summer where football will be a crowded space for brands; tournament campaigns often default to broad celebration or national pride, but ‘Even Rivals Pass The Pringles’ has been specifically developed and is rooted in the codes and behaviours that already shape fan culture.
Seanáin Mcguigan, brand manager UK&I at Pringles, said: “Football is one of those rare moments where the energy in the room changes completely. People get more engaged and more invested in every moment – and that is exactly why it is such a brilliant space for Pringles. We aren’t trying to make football polite… the rivalry, debate and the chaos are all part of the fun.
“For Pringles, the opportunity is in the moments that happen around the match. We are a brand people instinctively put in the middle of the table, pass around and share without thinking too much about it, and that gives us a very natural role in football viewing. With Jordan and John, we’ve been able to turn that everyday behaviour into a campaign that feels distinctive and unmistakably Pringles because whatever happens on the pitch, the tube still gets passed…”
