Recognition of official World Cup sponsors seems to be on the rise as the tournament moves into the quarterfinals today (2 July), with Adidas generating the most buzz.

The handing out of Pepsi to World Cup volunteers in Durban instead of official sponsor Coca-Cola’s product was a “delivery error”, a city spokesman said

The company has been inviting customers to take part in football-themed activities to win prizes at airports in South Africa and Europe.

Puma secretly unveiled an epic Cape Town Stadium Stunt in support of its global “Love = Football” campaign. It’s a wonder how they pulled off this stunt but it just goes to show that with a little creativity, every brand can steal a piece of the pie.

The *Foot-o Booth* is now available on facebook. Show support for your favorite team heading into the finals with this *World Cup special application*.

The 2010 FIFA World Cup marks the first time that social media is playing a prominent role in the event. Social media penetration and usage was nowhere near today’s levels during the last World Cup, four years ago, and many are finding it fascinating to watch the degree to which fans are engaging with social sites.

You’ve seen the Visa, Coca-Cola, Adidas and MTN (JSE:MTN) signs around the soccer pitches and you know these businesses paid $70m to $100m for global sponsorship rights.

How can it be justified?

American businesses are realizing that World Cup coverage is opening new doors to them with new advertising opportunities.

BT is unveiling a £30m aggressive marketing push to promote its recent deal with BSkyB to offer Sky Sports 1 and Sky Sports 2 on its BT Vision platform.