Bristol Myers Squibb is warming up for the FIFA World Cup 2026 with a new media campaign, launching its “Won’t Lose” ad ahead of the soccer community arriving in the U.S. for this summer’s tournament.
New Jersey, where BMS is based, is hosting World Cup matches, including the final. BMS is supporting New Jersey’s efforts, securing a role in the NYNJ World Cup 26 Jersey Fan Hub and a chance to spotlight its activities in the state and beyond. With five weeks to go before the tournament kicks off, BMS has unveiled the “Won’t Lose” campaign at the heart of its marketing around the event.
The campaign centers on a 50-second ad narrated by Ali Krieger, a two-time FIFA Women’s World Cup champion, that draws parallels between science and soccer. Like soccer, science is “a game of inches,” Krieger says in a voiceover.
As the video cuts between shots of a scientist and a soccer player, Krieger says, “Many shots miss, but the ones that land change everything.” The ad introduces a parent and child before cutting back to the scientist and soccer player as Krieger says, “Trial after trial. We fall. We rise. We go again.”
The ad ends with the lines, “When the stakes are this real, victory must belong to patients. That’s why Bristol Myers Squibb ‘Won’t Lose,’” over footage of the parent and child celebrating a goal during a match on TV. In the final seconds, on-screen text reads, “All in for 30 new treatments by 2030.”
BMS is running the campaign nationally across connected TV, programmatic display, video and social media. The campaign website features details on BMS’ research, patient stories and community health initiatives the company is undertaking in conjunction with the World Cup.
The company has created a mascot, Squibby, for the event. Described by BMS as part scientist, part hype machine, Squibby “makes science cool, bringing it to life with a high five, a smile and a reminder to never stop going,” the company said.
BMS is one of several drugmakers running campaigns tied to the World Cup. Haleon recently began the “For the Assist” campaign to showcase its consumer health products. Amgen and Sanofi have ties to the event through their support for Los Angeles and Boston, respectively.