Why is tech investing in sports sponsorship? Google it.

From promoting new phones to getting their logos on F1 wheels, big tech’s move into the sporting arena is big and bold. David Granger, director of content marketing agency Arc & Foundry examines why.

For UK football fans of a certain age, Pizza Hut’s 1996 television ad poking fun at the national team’s dubious penalty taking record was either too soon, or… that Gareth Southgate who missed against Germany in the Euros that summer, was fair game. It rubbed salt into a sore sporting wound, and there were some who felt it was no laughing – let alone marketing – matter.

Fast forward to 2025 and, January is transfer month in the UK when players are changing teams, giving Google the chance to resurrect another very divisive chapter in football. When defender Sol Campbell moved from Tottenham Hotspurs to their fierce London rivals Arsenal in 2001, the mood in his former club’s fans’ camp was, well… a little tense.

But this controversial move to the Gunners (albeit one which happened almost 25 years ago) gave Google the perfect line to encourage phone owners to “Switch Like Sol”. The ad itself is really clever (or sly if you’re a Spurs fan) with references to team colours, trophies won and anticipating that the grass will be greener for those swapping allegiances.

Aside from the intended poking of footballing rivals, the ad is also another indication of Google’s strategic move into engaging in the sporting arena. The tech company, and YouTube owner, has invested heavily in the NBA, NFL, college sports, esports, the Olympics… and is a main partner of current Formula One world champions McLaren. The logos on team kit, technology investment, fan engagement and grass roots initiatives have pushed the brand to global audiences. But to what end? 

Google themselves say it’s to showcase technology (which makes sense when you’re working with McLaren) it’s about driving user engagement either through search engine traffic or on the YouTube platform and keeping fans within the Google ecosystem for as long as possible.  

Like any global sports sponsorship, the brand building puts Google in front of massive audiences worldwide… but unlike other traditional sponsors, Google is also on the lookout for data which will help target their advertisers’ own audiences

For big tech, sports is a testing ground, a way to get spectators excited about things like augmented reality and AI. And with so many fans on their phones, it’s an opportunity to reach a huge audience with their products.

If you were being cynical, you could argue the deals are a way to gain control over the sports industry. And there’s the data. The more Google knows what fans like, the more ads they can sell more ads.

However, when it comes to actually creating advertising themselves, fair play to Google for getting the Campbell Pixel ad right (sorry Spurs fans).

There is always a danger that jumping on the bantz-wagon will backfire. As it did spectacularly for Domino’s (it’s another pesky pizza company at it again) when they attempted to poke fun at Arsenal’s Kai Havertz. He’d missed chances in an FA Cup match, but their tweet “Sorry if we’ve missed any orders tonight, we’ve just had this guy start…” was more a mob pile-on for the 25-year-old who had already been subject to online abuse. Along with his pregnant wife. 

There’s a case for brands staying away from mocking individual athletes. It may not be the harmless fun the hilarious social team think.

David Granger is the director of Arc & Foundry content marketing agency.