Gantavya Adukia

Nike Stuns IShowSpeed With Sea Of Erling Haalands At Norway v France

2026 FIFA World Cup, Erling Haaland, Ishowspeed, Nike, Norway National Football Team

Nike managed to pull off a stellar unique marketing campaign at the 2026 FIFA World Cup in Boston on Friday.

Involving Hollywood’s Channing Tatum and popular streamer Speed, Nike staged an elaborate stunt during Norway’s much-hyped group stage encounter against France.

The sports manufacturers arranged for an army of Erling Haaland clones to promote their upcoming sneaker collection, the Travis Scott x Nike Phantom 6 Cactus Jack edition.

Fans first caught a glimpse of the absurdity when a few Haaland impersonators were seen playing a game of keep-ups outside the Gillette Stadium.

All the participants were not only clad in the full Norwegian home kit, but also had blonde hairdos mimicking Haaland’s iconic ponytail. Naturally, on their feet were the Phantom 6 sneakers being advertised.

Nike then went one step further with the stunt by including A-lister Tatum into the mix.

The actor was present along with the several Haaland replicas in one of the end-stands as they watched France come up 4-1 trumps in what was essentially a dead-rubber.

At one point in the game, Tatum led the entire section into performing the Viking rowing ritual. The shouts of “Ro! Ro!” reverberated across the stadium, and could be distinctly heard even by people watching the games on their television.

What made the move sweeter was that Tatum himself was dressed up as Haaland. His getup featured the customary Norway jersey and a fancy blonde headset, with two horns coming out of its side.

This is not the first time Tatum has impersonated the burly Norwegian striker. Ahead of the World Cup, Nike had released an ad featuring Tatum alongside Haaland performing the latter’s iconic meditating celebration. Even then, Tatum was dressed in the Norway football jersey, albeit without the headgear.

The icing on the cake arrived when IShowSpeed made his way to the end-stand. The streamer was going about his live business as usual when he noticed one of the Norwegian fans next to him resembled Haaland.

Speed was pleasantly amused by the observation and pointed out the same to his viewers, until he turned around to gauge the people around him. The wide grin quickly melted into a look of panic once he noticed he had been surrounded by Haaland clones. The confusion and despair in his tone grew by the second, his reaction ensuring the virality of Nike’s extensive stunt.

The only thing missing from the night was perhaps Haaland himself. With Norway already through to the Round of 32, manager Stale Solbakken chose to rest most of his starters and keep them fresh for the knockout stages.

“Sometimes, as a coach, you have to protect your players. If the match gets out of control, I don’t want Haaland, [Martin] Odegaard, or [Alexander] Sorloth carrying the weight of that disappointment,” he explained after the match.

Wednesday’s loss means Norway will now take on Ivory Coast in Texas on June 30. Nike will undoubtedly be rooting for the Nordic nation to continue going further as they cook up more such spicy marketing campaigns.

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