As the World Cup heats up, the July 19 final isn't the only date circled on fans' calendars: Major League Soccer (MLS) returns on July 16, with all teams taking the field on July 22. Procter & Gamble brand Febreze is launching a new marketing campaign timed to rising soccer engagement at all levels, with details shared with Marketing Dive.

The "Can't Wash This" campaign is based on the insight that as consumers tune into World Cup or MLS broadcasts or participate in youth leagues, the attention soccer brings rises, and with it comes more gear, car interiors, and soft surfaces that can't be machine-washed yet easily absorb odors.

Febreze became the official odor-elimination partner of MLS this year, part of a larger collaboration between P&G and the league. The campaign seeks cultural relevance for Febreze Fabric Freshener, launched in 1998. Tyler Beck, P&G's vice president of North American air care, admits that relevance hasn't always been easy to find.

"Soccer gives us a cultural entry point that's both timely and ownable, but we didn't want to show up the way every brand does," the executive said. "Instead of focusing on the glamorous side of the sport, we dug into something real."

Febreze's new campaign includes podcast integrations, experiential activations, artist collaborations, and creator content. The brand will also deodorize and refresh the locker rooms of MLS clubs LA Galaxy, FC Cincinnati, New York Red Bulls, and Atlanta United FC, with behind-the-scenes footage captured during each team's session.

"One thing we see in the media mix is that Febreze is a very experiential brand," Beck said. "We cover broadcast and streaming, but we find that when you can visualize the experience and bring it into these cities, the brand can 'breathe' better."

As part of the campaign, Febreze partnered with the podcast "What Now? with Trevor Noah," creating integrated content around the show's World Cup coverage. Noah, a former host of "The Daily Show," filmed video content in the actual New York Red Bulls locker room, marking the podcast's first brand integration outside the studio.

"We didn't give Noah a very strict brief. We said, 'This is what we're doing, what do you think?' Then he came up with ideas and integration plans," said Esra Yeksek, P&G senior communications manager. "Trevor's attitude was... 'I'm not doing this for the ad; I'm doing it because I'm passionate about this space and I resonate with this consumer truth.'"

Engaging with culture through creators

The brand also collaborated with multidisciplinary artist Temi Coker on scent-inspired sneaker designs and locker room installations as part of the Febreze Boot Room Tour experience. The activation will run from July 17 to August 29, helping consumers engage with the brand in Los Angeles, New York, Cincinnati, Atlanta, and Charlotte, North Carolina.

Coker, a Nigerian-born artist known for saturated, colorful visuals, allows the campaign to connect with consumers at the intersection of design and soccer culture. According to Beck, Febreze's penetration among multicultural consumers may exceed that of any other P&G brand, particularly among Black and Hispanic consumers in the U.S., who spend 25% more on fragrance than other consumer groups.

"The brand has this community of enthusiasts, and there's an untapped, explosive growth segment emerging in soccer... so we thought partnering with Temi was a great opportunity," the executive said.

As part of the campaign, creator content will show how to translate the pro locker room experience into consumer home settings. Since Febreze is scent-focused, showcasing product efficacy in creator content poses a unique challenge, so the brand worked with visual creators including miniature artists, makeup artists, and special effects artists. The brand also expanded into college athletes through NIL (name, image, and likeness) deals.

The embrace of creators aligns with industry trends and with the views of P&G Chief Brand Officer Marc Pritchard, who has spoken about evolving expert voices as part of a new marketing era amid media fragmentation, digital commerce, and the rise of AI.

"The historical norm of using our scale and rates to blanket TV ads everywhere isn't how we win in new spaces," Beck said. "We're going to lean more on consumer communities to tell our story. This campaign is a perfect reflection of us embracing that shift."