Have you ever noticed a single ant? A single ant is very hard to keep track of. It’s always moving, never sits still and is surprisingly quick for something so small.

But compare that to marching ants. Organised, single file, one clear objective. None look out of place, they’re all working together.

Together ants are organised and goal orientated, but alone they panic. I wonder what lone ants are thinking?

“Hey! Where is everyone! Where’s 7389945253? Where’s 3586574684? Where did 5333392501 go? Guys? Don’t leave me! I need to get home to 3659302090! I’m coming! I don’t care how long it takes me!”

Normally by now I’ve named the ant. And I hope that one day, Mr. Avocado N Turkey finds his family.

Recently I needed a new Bible, and at my favourite Christian bookstore I noticed advertising that said: “The perfect gift for any occasion”

And that got me thinking… Is the Bible really the perfect gift for every occasion?

A Bible is an appropriate gift for weddings, funerals, birthdays, graduations, new haircuts, new jobs, new pets, new hats, first date, first house, first football, first reading lesson, last murder, last breath, last drink, last hiccup… I’m sure the list goes on.

The Bible is a very versatile gift, but I thought of a situation where it isn’t appropriate.

“Hey <insert friends name>, congratulations on memorising the whole bible! I got you a Bible!”

I don’t have one single moment to call my favourite, there were so many. But all those moments were witnessed by the fans, and they made my Russia 2018 experience so memorable.

Everyday I saw fans of all nationalities coming together and supporting their team. Through them I felt every emotion of football, and the overwhelming emotion was joy.

– Mexican fans celebrating like they had won the whole tournament after they beat Germany. And then celebrating with South Koreans a week later.

– Japanese and Senegalese fans staying behind and cleaning the stadium, even after they lost.

– English fans re-engagement with their team bringing it home.

– Argentinean fans and their roller-coaster of emotion in the group stage.

– Croatian pyro parties throughout their run to the final.

– Russian fans finding pride in their team when they feared embarrassment.

They’re the main ones I remember, and that was all at Russia. Before the tournament I saw unfancied Peru qualify for the first time since 1982, Panama and Iceland qualify for the first time, and Australia breathe a huge sigh of relief when they finally booked their ticket.

Of course another huge emotion was despair, surprisingly felt by a number of bigger sides, but still the simple joy of football was always just beneath the tears.

The World Cup is big for football brands, particularly adidas and Nike, and marketing in general.

As official supplier of the World Cup, adidas are always highly visible. The ball, the referees kit, the kids boots, they’re all adidas. Adidas also supply a fair share of the countries kits and boots for the players, their Predator, X and Nemisis stand out and grab attention. Adidas are always front and centre at a World Cup. But all this exposure for one brand, magnifies the lack of advertising from Nike.

Nike are largely muted this World Cup. Usually they release a top quality football film, but they haven’t. Even their most visible products of the World Cup are underwhelming. Their kits haven’t enthused me, the copy and paste template doesn’t show enough respect. And then their ‘Just Do It’ pack of boots is predominately white. You need a second look to know they’re Nike. Certainly not the star of the pitch Nike usually are.

But neither adidas or Nike are my stand-out advertisers. My favourite advertisements come from Wish, with their Time on Your Hands campaign. They got World Class footballers who aren’t in Russia to learn a new skill with all the time they have on their hands. It’s been my highlight of the half-time viewing.

Please, please, please do not ask me, because I always get it wrong.

Here are a few of my World Cup tips:
Germany to win the tournament.
Germany to advance after a first-up defeat.
Peru to beat France.
Serbia to beat Switzerland.
Senegal to go far, Quater Finals and beyond.
Nigeria to beat Argentina.
Spain to comfortably beat Russia.
Mexico to knock out Brazil.

They were all wrong, but it’s still one of the reason I love football.