There are many celebrated footballers being beamed into the homes of the American television audience this summer but none, it seems, are more famous in the United States than Sir David Beckham. When the game stops, the Beckham show starts. He may feature in as many as three separate commercial spots during half-time or one of the two hydration breaks when the network Fox goes to an advertisement break. There is not another former player who gets close to that exposure—even those who won World Cups, Premier League golden boots, and the occasional Ballon d’Or.
There is Beckham visiting Home Depot to build a garden in which to watch the World Cup. There he is at a McDonald’s drive-through, or sipping a glass of Stella Artois, or riffing on his own fame for mobile giant Verizon. Here comes an AI-generated 2002 Beckham in the Adidas World Cup ad with Hollywood star Timothée Chalamet. Beckham wants you to acknowledge that football can change lives with the help of Bank of America, drink Pepsi, snack on some Lay’s chips.
