There’s a saying on Madison Avenue: Nothing kills a bad product faster than good advertising.
The ferocious pile-on of Christian Pulisic is partly due to him being over-marketed during the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
A slew of national ad campaigns portraying Pulisic as “Captain America” backfired when the star flopped on the big stage. That’s what James did in the 2011 and 2014 NBA Finals. That’s what Pulisic did this year as he went goalless at the World Cup.
Unfortunately, Pulisic is the biggest sports marketing dud since Reebok’s “Dan & Dave” campaign for the 1992 Summer Olympics. That could spell serious challenges for Team Pulisic’s ability to attract corporate sponsors before the next World Cup.
As an endorser, Pulisic hauls in an estimated $20 million annually from brands such as Puma, Volkswagen, and Hershey. The problem for him is that after being blamed for Team USA’s humiliating 4-1 loss to Belgium last Monday, the TV spots featuring him kept coming—and coming—all week.
