Most brands approaching major sporting events turn to limited-edition packaging or new promotional visuals. Café Bustelo decided to go a step further and transform its coffee can into something fans can wear themselves.
The new campaign, titled Game Face, brings together coffee, art and sports fandom through more than one million collectible cans that will be available across the U.S. market throughout June and July. Each can comes with a set of temporary face tattoos placed directly inside the product lid.
The series is inspired by Argentina, Brazil, Colombia and Mexico, countries the company associates with the brand’s heritage. The can and tattoo artwork was created by artists from each of these countries, incorporating local flora and fauna, national symbols, distinctive patterns and colours connected to their cultures.
The campaign arrives just ahead of the FIFA World Cup and will be supported through television, digital and out-of-home media, murals, creator content and other communication formats. The hero spot features fans with painted faces alongside the message “Your colors. Your cup.”
While many sports marketing initiatives rely on sponsorships or licensed content, Café Bustelo has focused on fan rituals. The tattoos are inspired by face painting traditions that have long been part of sports fandom across Latin America, and the brand presents them as a way for supporters to show pride in their national teams beyond the stadium.
The project’s distinguishing feature lies in its packaging. Rather than treating the promotional element as a separate addition, the tattoo kit is integrated into the product itself, turning a coffee can into an interactive experience. Consumers can access video tutorials for applying and removing the tattoos by scanning a QR code located inside the lid.
For Café Bustelo, a brand that has built its communication around Latin American identity and cultural heritage for almost a century, Game Face represents another way of making the product part of a broader cultural experience rather than simply an everyday coffee ritual.
The campaign was developed by PSOne and BBH USA, with the creative execution further supported through murals and out-of-home advertising inspired by the visual identities of the four participating countries.
