Adriana Lima kicks off World Cup advertising frenzy

As the FIFA World Cup readies to kick off, international brands are using the opportunity to market like mad and push their product with a host of funny, sexy and powerful advertising.

Korean automaker Kia has released a series of adverts starring Brazilian supermodel Adriana Lima in which she convinces Americans, more in tune with NASCAR racing and American football, to tune into the World Cup.

“While I am absolutely sure these commercials won’t change American sports fans’ preferences, they are really enjoyable to watch. Oh, and if you watch closely, you might notice some Kia vehicles in the videos as well,” wrote Dan Mihalascu for the CarScoops website.

For its McDonalds has championed a host of what seem to be everyday people in its advert, depicting a young boy performing dazzling tricks with a football and an elderly man with a knack for crowd-pleasing.

ESPN boast a advert that could be familiar to many; it depicts a variety of every day conversations predicting World Cup wins. “If we go to penalties, we are doomed,” says a British man at the end of the advert before the caption “Every 4 years, the conversation starts again” flashes on screen.

The advert for headphone maker Beats by Dre shows a series of men getting ready to face the crowd, wearing the headphones and mentally preparing for the game.

“Run like it’s the last day of your life,” a father says to his son over the phone, “run for your family and your friends.”