As the FIFA World Cup 26 captures fans around the globe, Lenovo Yoga and Microsoft are taking a different approach to soccer marketing, exploring the stories behind the beautiful game itself.
Created by SuperHeroes New York, The Football Files is a new AI-powered content series developed through the agency’s creator platform, Made with Lenovo Yoga x Copilot+ PC. Rather than celebrating the action on the pitch, the campaign dives into the origins—both factual and fictional—of soccer’s most recognizable traditions.
Each short film tackles a different question, from where the sport began to the origins of the iconic black-and-white ball and the introduction of red and yellow cards. The result is a playful blend of history, imagination, and AI-driven filmmaking designed for social audiences during the tournament.
Leading the series is soccer creator Ben Black, whose 1.3 million Instagram followers have made him one of the sport’s most recognizable digital personalities. Black narrates each episode, appears throughout the films, and shares the content with his audience throughout the World Cup.
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“The Football Files is about stories we could never tell before,” said Rogier Vijverberg, chief creative hero at SuperHeroes. “We’ve built something thumb-stopping for the World Cup while also playfully innovating creator marketing along the way.”
One installment, directed by AI filmmaker Matt Zien, traces soccer’s evolution from ancient Mesoamerican ball games through medieval Europe before imagining a distant future where the game continues long after the word “football” has disappeared.
The campaign also showcases the creative possibilities of AI-assisted storytelling, demonstrating how creators can use Lenovo Yoga x Copilot+ PCs to bring ambitious visual narratives to life.
CREDITS:
BRAND: Lenovo
- Archit Mardia, Client
- Xinyi Yang, Client
- Clinton Marrs, Client
- Wahid Razali, Client
AGENCY: Superheroes
- Rogier Vijverberg, Chief Creative Officer
- Elliot Stewart Franzen, Creative Director
- Christina Chen, Creative & Design
- Doris Liu, Creative & Design
- Matt Zien, Creative
- Nikki Cohen, Producer
- Susan Vugts, Account Director
- Nik Lokensgaard, Production Director
- Ben Black, Team
