In the lead-up to next year’s FIFA World Cup returning to North America next year, Nike’s football and soccer gear division Nike Football is out with a new campaign called “Scary Good.” 

The campaign is from Nike Agency Wieden + Kennedy London, which says the campaign celebrates the “creative, fearless style” of “attacking football,” a reference to offensive tactics designed to score goals.  

“Scary Good” features nine films that pay homage to the horror and satire of late-night television with a cast of what the agency calls “the game’s most dominant attackers.”  

For example, Kylian Mbappé, who currently plays for both Real Madrid CF and France’s National Team, stars in ‘Kyller Instinct,’ a short horror spoof about a traumatized goalkeeper and a hospital ward full of defenders who have recently faced the star forward.  

In one scene, an injured defenseman is being rushed to the hospital in an ambulance tended to by two EMT personnel. The battered player suddenly looks up from the gurney he is lying on and asks, “what was the score?” “Don’t tell him!” one of the aides quickly replies.   

Another film features midfielder Cole Palmer (Chelsea FC; England’s National Team) who fronts a law firm ad as the head of ‘Reputational Damage Specialists’ – offering skinned defenders everything from new names to new faces.   

Next year’s World Cup is being co-hosted by the United States, Canada, and Mexico and runs from June 11 to July 19.