With the World Cup kicking off, what better way to prepare ourselves than to get our Copywriter @TeaAndCopy to list his favourite Brazil 2014 advertising so far?

Once again, it seems the battle to be the biggest brand at a major tournament is between the two sportswear giants, Adidas and Nike, with both companies, as expected, upping their game to outrageously high standards.

1. Adidas — The Dream: All in or nothing

Spending over £50m in what is their biggest global push in the company’s history, Adidas have released their ‘All in or nothing’ campaign, featuring a whole host of global superstars, with Messi at the heart.

2. Nike — #RiskEverything

Nike have rolled out part two of their blockbuster #RiskEverything campaign, taking football advertising in a completely bold and new direction by releasing a dystopian animated short.

In my opinion, the Adidas ad is far too forgettable compared to the originality of Nike’s efforts. Adidas lack the chest-beating, heart-pumping punch and power, which Nike supply in abundance. The final score? Nike 1 — 0 Adidas. Sorry, Lionel.

However, it’s not just the sports brands getting in on the action.

3. Beats by Dre — The Game Before The Game

Largely seen as one of the coolest brands out there, Beats By Dre simply had to deliver, and this five-minute enchanting epic does just that — with class and style. The Game Before The Game is a unique and powerful concept, one that will certainly resonate extremely well.

Of course, not every brand has £50m at their disposal, so they have to be more inventive.

4. Paddy Power — #ShaveTheRainforest

Paddy Power are essentially the Ryanair of football, causing controversy as much as is humanly possible, this time convincing the world they’d cut down the Amazon rainforest in support of Roy’s Boys. They did eventually go on to explain that it was all done by computer trickery in their blog, however not before being berated by a Hobbit:http://blog.paddypower.com/2014/06/08/the-truth-about-paddy-powers-stunt-in-the-amazon-rainforest/?AFF_ID=16562

5. Football Pools — Banks,G.

An extremely simple idea to spread awareness, Football Pools parodied the UK’s most famous street tagger, Banksy, by rebranding England goalkeeping legend Gordon Banks as ‘Banks,G’. Although a straightforward concept, it is one that is perfectly suited for social media sharing.

And the award for World Cup Advertising Gaffe goes to…

Raisport

It’s all very well creating an impact in the build up to the World Cup, but my advice is not to take on the Catholic Church.

This is what happened when Raisport, an Italian sports broadcaster, kitted out the iconic Christ the Redeemer statue in their nation’s kit. The Archdiocese of Rio was so outraged, he has even threatened a multi-million pound lawsuit.

So, you know, for future reference, don’t upset religious leaders…