Kylian Mbappé × On: The Brand Partnership That Could Change Football's Sportswear Landscape

Summary

On, a Swiss brand best known for running shoes, signed Kylian Mbappé as global ambassador and product collaborator on September 18, 2026, ending his roughly 20-year Nike relationship. The partnership pairs Mbappé with Thierry Henry as Director of Football and Sydney Schertenleib on the women's game, backed by On's LightSpray manufacturing technology and a Juergen Teller campaign shot inside On's Zurich labs rather than a stadium. On's first football boots launch in 2027, making this a live branding case study rather than a finished success.

A new player has entered the game

For nearly two decades, Kylian Mbappé and Nike were closely connected. He signed with the brand in 2006 at just eight years old, and from his early years as a promising football talent to becoming one of the most recognisable athletes in the world, the Nike Swoosh was a constant presence throughout his career. On September 18, 2026, that relationship came to an end. Mbappé officially joined Swiss sportswear brand On, becoming its global ambassador and a central figure in its expansion into football. The agreement includes cash and equity, although the financial terms have not been publicly disclosed. For On, a company founded in 2010 and primarily recognised for its performance running shoes, the announcement represents something much larger than another celebrity endorsement. It marks the beginning of a new chapter in the brand's identity. On is entering a market historically dominated by Nike, Adidas and Puma. Rather than approaching football solely through conventional sponsorships, the brand is positioning its entry around innovation, athlete collaboration and a distinctive creative direction. From a branding perspective, the interesting part isn't simply that Mbappé has changed sponsors. It's what On is attempting to build around him.

From running shoes to a global sportswear identity

On began in Switzerland with a clear proposition, rethink the experience of running. Its identity developed around Swiss engineering, minimalist aesthetics and distinctive performance technology. The brand's recognisable CloudTec sole construction became both a functional product feature and a visual signature. Unlike traditional running shoes, the open cushioning structures made On products identifiable even without prominently displaying a logo. That distinction matters. A strong brand doesn't always need its name to be immediately visible. Sometimes, the product itself becomes the most recognisable element of the identity. Over time, On expanded beyond running into lifestyle footwear, outdoor products, training and tennis. Its relationship with Roger Federer, who became an investor and partner in 2019, demonstrated how a collaboration with an established athlete could support expansion into an entirely different sporting category. Mbappé now brings a similar opportunity in football, although the commercial and creative demands of the two sports are different. On isn't simply introducing another product line. It is expanding what consumers understand the brand to represent.

Why Mbappé is more than the face of a campaign

Celebrity endorsements traditionally follow a familiar structure. A brand develops a product, recruits a famous personality and builds a campaign around their influence. On's relationship with Mbappé is designed to go further. The footballer will work directly with On's product development teams, contributing his experience to the design and testing of future football footwear and apparel. His role also extends beyond football into performance, movement and contemporary design, according to On's official announcement. That distinction is significant from a brand strategy perspective. A celebrity can attract attention, but participation in product development creates a different story. The athlete becomes connected to what the brand is creating, rather than simply promoting something that already exists. For consumers, that provides an additional reason to associate the product with the person. For the brand, it creates opportunities for storytelling that extend far beyond a single advertising campaign. Product development, behind-the-scenes content, performance testing, lifestyle campaigns and eventual product launches can all become part of the same narrative. This is where the relationship between personal branding and corporate branding becomes especially interesting. Mbappé brings an established audience and athletic identity. On brings its engineering expertise, design language and innovation-focused positioning. The partnership connects those two identities around a shared product-development story.

The creative direction: why On chose Juergen Teller

One of the most interesting aspects of the announcement is its visual execution. Rather than relying entirely on the familiar language of sports advertising, stadium lights, dramatic action photography and heavily stylised athletic imagery, On brought internationally recognised photographer Juergen Teller into its Zurich innovation laboratories. The campaign features Mbappé alongside Thierry Henry and Sydney Schertenleib, surrounded by machinery, product experimentation and On's LightSpray manufacturing technology. The result connects football with a creative world that feels closer to contemporary fashion and editorial photography. This is a useful lesson in brand positioning. A brand doesn't always need to communicate through the visual conventions of its industry. Sometimes, stepping outside those conventions creates a more distinctive identity. For On, the laboratory setting also reinforces a central part of its brand story, the company wants to be recognised for engineering and innovation, not simply for producing sportswear.

The photographs serve two purposes. They introduce the people associated with On's football ambitions while placing the brand's innovation process at the centre of the story. Instead of simply saying that On is an innovative company, the campaign shows the environment in which that innovation takes place. That is visual storytelling applied to brand strategy.

The technology behind the identity: LightSpray

While Mbappé brings attention to On's football ambitions, the brand's technology provides a foundation for its product strategy. At the centre of that strategy is LightSpray. First introduced in 2024, the proprietary manufacturing technology uses a robotic process to create a performance footwear upper from a continuous sprayed filament. On is now adapting the technology to football, with the aim of developing lightweight footwear that provides precision and a close connection between the athlete's foot and the ball. The company's first football boots are planned for release in 2027. For a brand entering an established market, this creates an important point of differentiation. Nike, Adidas and Puma already have decades of football history, established product families and relationships with athletes and clubs around the world. On cannot manufacture that history overnight. What it can do is build its own story around the capabilities and technologies that already distinguish the company. From a branding standpoint, this is the difference between entering a market by copying the category's existing visual and product language and entering it with a proposition connected to your existing identity. On's football ambitions are therefore closely tied to the credibility of its technology. The campaign creates anticipation. The products will need to demonstrate what makes that anticipation worthwhile.

Building a brand ecosystem through athletes

Mbappé may be the most recognisable face of the announcement, but On's football identity is being developed around several athletes with different roles. Thierry Henry has been appointed Director of Football after working with the company behind the scenes since late 2025. His responsibilities include product strategy, athlete relationships and the development of On's football direction. Sydney Schertenleib, the Swiss international and FC Barcelona player who joined On in December 2025, is also contributing to the brand's football development, particularly its approach to products for the women's game. Together, they represent different elements of the brand's emerging football identity. Kylian Mbappé is the global ambassador, product collaborator and a connection to contemporary football culture. Thierry Henry brings experience, strategic direction and involvement in building On's football division. Sydney Schertenleib represents a younger generation of football and athlete-led development for the women's game. Rather than relying entirely on one celebrity, On is creating a broader foundation for future campaigns, product releases and athlete-focused storytelling. This could allow the brand to build continuity across several generations and audiences as its football business develops.

The bigger lesson: brand identity is more than a logo

The Mbappé partnership offers an interesting example of a brand evolving without necessarily changing its visual identity. On hasn't needed to introduce an entirely new company name, redesign its logo or abandon the aesthetic that made its running products recognisable. Instead, it is expanding the meaning associated with its existing identity. Running established its connection to performance. Tennis introduced another dimension through athletes such as Roger Federer. Football now creates opportunities to connect the brand with a much larger sporting culture that spans performance, fashion, lifestyle and entertainment. The challenge is translating that positioning into actual products, relationships and long-term consumer demand. As Reuters reported following the announcement, analysts have cautioned that high-profile partnerships alone do not guarantee commercial success in football, where established competitors possess extensive distribution networks, sponsorship portfolios and product histories. That uncertainty makes this an ongoing branding case study rather than a completed success story. The announcement demonstrates how On wants to position itself. The coming product launches and consumer response will reveal how effectively that positioning translates into the market.

Final thoughts: the future of branding is built through experiences

The collaboration between Kylian Mbappé and On is about more than a footballer wearing a different logo. It brings together athlete influence, product innovation, creative photography and a company entering a new cultural space. What makes the story worth studying is the way these elements support one another. Mbappé provides a recognisable personality. On's technology offers a product-development narrative. Juergen Teller's campaign creates a distinctive visual introduction. Henry and Schertenleib add different perspectives to the football project. Together, they form the beginning of a larger brand experience. The lesson for businesses is that a memorable identity is not created through visual design alone. It develops through the relationship between what a company creates, how it communicates and what people experience when they interact with the brand. A logo makes a brand recognisable. The experience behind it makes the brand meaningful.

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