- Lysol and Tim Howard have teamed up to tackle post-game stink in match worn gear, spotlighting Lysol Laundry Sanitizer, a laundry additive that kills 99.9% of odor-causing bacteria.
- The campaign includes a new YouTube Short titled "Stink Behind the Win," plus a partnership with MatchWornShirt (MWS) to auction Howard's signed goalkeeper gloves worn during 2010, with proceeds benefitting The Uniform Funding Foundation (TUFF).
- Howard is currently one of the most in-demand retired soccer personalities in brand deals, having also fronted campaigns for Jim Beam and BeOne Medicines in 2026 alone.
- This marks Lysol's latest athlete-focused partnership following its deal with reality TV personality Snooki for its Air Sanitizer "StinkCheck" campaign in late 2025.
Lysol, the Reckitt-owned household hygiene brand, has tapped American soccer legend Tim Howard as the face of its new “Stink Behind the Win” campaign, spotlighting Lysol Laundry Sanitizer as the go-to solution for parents and players battling post-match odor in game-worn kits.
In a new YouTube Short, Howard accidentally sanitizes a prized match worn kit he is preparing for charity auction, then scrambles to work up enough sweat to restore the winning stink before it ships out.
Howard, widely known as the “Secretary of Defense,” remains one of the most recognizable faces in U.S. soccer. He set a World Cup record with 16 saves in a single match against Belgium in 2014.
Off the pitch, he has been a busy brand partner in 2026, fronting Jim Beam’s “Home Field Advantage” World Cup campaign as the official spirits partner of the U.S. Soccer Federation, and joining BeOne Medicines’ “One Save Changes Everything” cancer care awareness campaign just weeks before this Lysol deal dropped.
Just as Landon Donovan recently starred in Nescafé’s “Third Half” FIFA World Cup 2026 campaign, Howard is proving that retired USMNT icons are among the hottest commodities for brands heading into tournament season. Howard also co-hosts “Unfiltered Soccer with Landon Donovan and Tim Howard,” now in its second season ahead of FIFA World Cup 2026.
For Lysol, the Howard partnership builds on a streak of pop-culture-driven campaigns. The brand previously partnered with Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi of Jersey Shore fame for its Air Sanitizer “StinkCheck” social campaign in October 2025.
This trend of pairing hygiene products with athletes is also gaining traction across other brands, similar to how Timothy Weah partnered with Electrolit on a made-for-this athlete-focused hydration campaign.
Takeaways
This deal is a smart play on multiple levels. With FIFA World Cup 2026 set to be hosted in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico, brands are racing to attach themselves to soccer, and Lysol found a clever, product-relevant angle that goes beyond a standard logo placement.
Tying laundry sanitizer to the very real, very relatable problem of smelly sports kits makes the message land naturally, especially for the parents who do the post-game laundry. Howard, with his warm public persona and World Cup legacy, is the right messenger.
The charity auction component through MatchWornShirt adds a purpose-driven layer that gives consumers a reason to engage beyond just watching an ad.
With Howard already fronting deals for Jim Beam, BeOne Medicines, and now Lysol in 2026 alone, is he becoming the defining brand face of the U.S. World Cup moment this summer? Does tying a laundry product to elite sports culture, rather than domestic cleaning, open a new category lane for Lysol beyond its traditional positioning?
