The best esports advertising campaigns of 2024

With the end of 2024 drawing near, Esports Insider is once again looking back at a year full of impactful marketing campaigns and unexpected brand collaborations in the world of esports.

As with previous years (2023, 2022, 2021, 2020 and 2019), some marketing projects have stood out, whether that’s through unique ideation or flawless execution.

Highlighting the efforts of established and emerging brands in the industry, Esports Insider presents the best esports advertising campaigns of 2024 in no particular order.

Known for its focus on fashionable merchandise, North American esports organisation 100 Thieves has launched several successful apparel collaborations in the past, including a merchandise collaboration with Adidas Originals in May. In October, the organisation took its streetwear game to the next level with a limited merchandise drop in partnership with iconic anime and gaming franchise Pokemon.

The announcement video features Pokemon-themed keyboards as well as clothing items adorned with popular characters, such as Bulbasaur, Charmander, and, of course, Pikachu. Although the marketing campaign around the drop itself was not extraordinary, this collaboration shows how branded esports merchandise can be exciting and wearable in the eyes of fans!

Outstanding campaigns can be crafted by any brand regardless of size or global recognition. Malaysian milk and dairy company Goodday proves this with its charming Boomers 2 Gamers initiative. Targeted towards individuals who are at least 50 years old, the project invited ten senior citizens to participate in Counter-Strike 2 (CS2) training sessions under the guidance of former professional athletes.

The goal was to form a new senior CS2 roster with the emerging top 10 participants. Moreover, Goodday delivered a heart-felt video summary of the challenge on its Instagram account. In the video, seniors and their younger relatives explain how Boomers 2 Gamers has helped them bridge the generational gap and gain a better understanding of the benefits of competitive gaming.

The Counter-Strike franchise overall had an eventful year. Following the release of Counter-Strike 2 in September 2023, the competitive scene moved away from CS:GO to its successor. With the beginning of the first-ever CS2 Major in March this year, Red Bull Gaming and CHEW Productions released the first episode of their two-part documentary ‘Memories of CS:GO’.

Celebrating over a decade of competitive history, ‘The Early Years’ covers the title’s early developments and esports beginnings. The second part, dubbed ‘The Final Years’, highlights the game’s legacy as well as its biggest personalities and moments. With more than three hours of total watch time, ‘Memories of CS:GO’ represents a well-executed farewell to one of esports’ most popular titles.

Supermarket chain ALDI has been a supporter of Team Vitality’s women’s League of Legends roster, Rising Bees, since its inception in 2023. This year, the two organisations joined forces to further raise awareness for the abuse women commonly face in the world of gaming and esports.

The initiative’s centrepiece is a video where Rising Bees players, as well as other female esports professionals, read out hateful messages and discuss how such comments affect their mental health and in-game performance. However, the video also showcases the morale-boosting effect of kind messages read out by the participants in an effort to encourage positivity within gaming spaces. On Team Vitality’s YouTube channel, the video has recorded 140,000 views.

Esports organisation Astralis and electronics retailer Elgiganten launched a unique campaign with a similar message: combat toxicity in gaming by creating a positive environment. The ‘Less Flaming, More Gaming’ initiative saw members of Astralis’ Counter-Strike roster appear in promotional material and pledge against toxicity.

These pledges also represented real discount codes for Elgiganten’s website with messages, such as “I promise that I will not rage or start flaming my mates just because they did not throw a grenade or molo while the enemy was rushing A, and we then ended up losing that round GLHF.” 

With this creative and light-hearted delivery, Astralis and Elgiganten successfully made a serious topic more easily digestible for a broad audience.

2024 marked the 25^th anniversary of one of esports’ oldest organisations, Evil Geniuses (EG). To commemorate its long-standing legacy, the organisation launched an effective marketing move, permanently reverting the EG logo to its original version from 1999.

The previous logo revamp in 2019 was not received well by fans, giving EG the opportunity to celebrate an organisation that is looking to learn from its past to forge a new future. The nostalgic trip down the EG memory lane was further accompanied by a merchandise capsule dedicated to the original logo.

Another legacy continued this year with the 14^th edition of the League of Legends (LoL) World Championship. Being one of the event’s major partners since 2020, car manufacturer Mercedes-Benz introduced a new feature this time around. Similar to traditional sports events, the car brand provided a vehicle to carry the World Championship trophy, known as the Summoner’s Cup.

Transported by the custom electric G-Class SUV, the Summoner’s Cup travelled to three Worlds locations: Berlin, Paris and London. Accompanying the world’s best League of Players players throughout their journey, the Mercedes-Benz trophy carrier car became not just a sponsor but an active participant in the story of Worlds 2024.

Spirits and beer brands have become common actors within esports, sponsoring tournaments and creating joint products with industry stakeholders. However, Gen.G’s collaboration with Korean wine company Allvintage Wine marks the first wine released by an esports organisation.

Sold exclusively in Korea, Allvintage Wine produces a Chilean red and a Chilean white wine for the Korean esports powerhouse. The adorable design of the wine bottles, which prominently displays Gen.G’s mascot ‘GenRang’, arguably stands out the most. As the face of the innovative product launch, the yellow creature also gave the wine its name, ‘GenRang Wine.’