Brezilya Futbol Federasyonu sends 'ambush marketing' warning to Hypera over Endrick advertisements

The Brezilya Futbol Federasyonu (CBF) has sent an official legal notice to Hypera, the manufacturer of the well-known medicine brand Neosaldina, accusing the company of ambush marketing. According to the federation's claims, the intellectual property rights of the CBF were used without authorization in an advertising campaign starring Brazilian young football star Endrick. The advertisement in question is reported to have exploited the corporate assets of the Brezilya milli takımı without authorization to serve a commercial purpose. The CBF believes that this situation misleads consumers and creates a perception of sponsorship or an official connection between the brand and the national team that does not exist. The legal notice in question was sent on 3 Temmuz 2026, and the federation has demanded the immediate halt of the campaign and the removal of the relevant advertising materials from publication.

According to the federation's defense, the steps taken by the advertising agency and Hypera went far beyond merely utilizing the football player's own individual image rights. The use of the official jersey of the Brezilya milli takımı in the campaign materials has become one of the CBF's biggest complaints. Authorities argue that such designs and visual elements will create a misleading impression in the eyes of the public. Viewers are encouraged to think, when seeing this advertisement, that the Neosaldina brand is officially endorsed, supported, or licensed by the national team. The CBF emphasizes that this situation represents a direct violation of its right to have control over its own corporate identity.

The Brezilya Futbol Federasyonu explicitly acknowledges that national team footballers are allowed to use their individual signature and image rights in commercial deals. However, this individual permission has a strict limitation and does not cover the use of the federation's registered assets. The official jersey, the national team crest, special logos, and all other corporate symbols are the exclusive property of the CBF. It is stipulated that clear and written prior approval must be obtained from the federation to use any of these elements in an advertising campaign. The institution claims that the campaign unfairly benefits from the prestige and economic value of the national team, which was built with great effort over many years.

One of the most important commercial factors behind such disputes is the exclusive rights provided by sponsorship agreements. The CBF holds all intellectual property and commercial rights for the Brezilya milli takımlarının (both men's and women's teams). These rights are converted into commercial value through massive sponsorship and licensing agreements made with major corporations. The federation currently maintains an exclusive and restricted sponsorship agreement in the pharmaceutical category with a company named Cimed. This campaign carried out by Neosaldina through Endrick directly undermines and commercially endangers these exclusive sponsorship rights granted to Cimed.

Following the incident's reflection in the press, the situation caused a wide repercussion in the sports and advertising worlds. News sources such as Power360 conveyed the matter to Hypera, but no official response regarding the issue had been received from the company by the time the article was published. During checks made on 4 Temmuz 2026, when the relevant news broke in the press, it was observed that various advertisements shot with Endrick were still actively shared on the social media accounts of the Neosaldina brand. Despite this, it was determined that the specific advertising material subject to the federation's legal notice, which directly featured the national team jerseys, had been removed. As ambush marketing cases in the sports industry generally lead to high legal costs, it is considered that this incident could set an important precedent for future legal processes.