The report, by Datamonitor, says that although the World Cup has been widely acknowledged as one of the best in sporting terms, it has been a nightmare for marketing directors.
It shows that of the 49 players signed up to appear in spots for Nike and Adidas during the World Cup, only seven have managed to score during the tournament.
According to the report, the rot set in before the finals even started, with Roy Keane's expulsion from the Republic of Ireland team -- 7-Up had based its entire World Cup campaign around the Manchester United captain, including featuring his face on millions of cans of the drink.
The failure of France to make it beyond the first round did not impact only on advertising in France.
Renault had signed France striker Thierry Henry to front its new "va va voom" campaign for its Clio model. However, the Arsenal star was suspended after France's second game, meaning that he only appeared on the field for 115 minutes during the whole tournament.
The bad luck has also affected Nike's "secret tournament" campaign, with two of its stars, Luis Figo and Zinedine Zidane both injured before the World Cup began.
Neil Broome, consumer markets analyst at Datamonitor, said: "It is clear that supporting a world-class player doesn't necessarily always work -- like any 'brand ambassador', a sporting figure can fall from grace, put in a poor performance or simply fail to have the expected impact."
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