The last time a major American broadcaster promoted a sporting event by asking someone to sit in a glass box in Times Square, it was probably for something involving David Blaine. Fox Sports is betting that soccer fans will prove equally compelling viewing.

With the World Cup beginning Thursday, the network — which holds the English-language rights to all 104 matches of the month-long tournament — has assembled a promotional campaign that spans the earnest, the whimsical and the faintly surreal. Robert Gottlieb, the president of marketing at Fox Sports, described the effort in an interview as meeting fans "where they're at," a phrase that has become obligatory in such conversations.

The campaign began roughly a year ago with teaser spots during NFL broadcasts, including one that depicted thousands of soccer balls floating past the Statue of Liberty "as if they were arriving from overseas," Mr. Gottlieb said. A subsequent spot invited viewers to imagine the United States men's national team winning the tournament, a scenario that remains, for the moment, firmly in the realm of imagination.

The offline components include 40-foot inflatable figures of Lionel Messi, Lamine Yamal and Christian Pulisic, which have been touring American cities with names borrowed from European nations — Belgium, Wisconsin; Holland, Michigan — before settling at the Santa Monica Pier. (One assumes the inflatables were not asked their opinion of the itinerary.)

For younger viewers, Fox has enlisted the residents of Sesame Street. Count von Count will handle statistics in a segment called "The Count Down," Oscar the Grouch will host a satirical highlight show called "Trash Talk," and Grover will learn to call matches alongside actual Fox broadcasters, a premise that suggests someone in the programming department has a sense of humor about the profession.

The most attention-seeking element may be the search for a "Chief World Cup Watcher," conducted in partnership with Indeed. The winning candidate will watch all 104 matches from inside a glass cube in Times Square and receive $50,000 for the experience.

Mr. Gottlieb said his team's task was "being very surgical" in directing viewers to specific matches. With 104 of them over 31 days, that seems less like surgery and more like air traffic control during a holiday weekend.

Original story published in adweek.com: "From Muppets to Miracles: How Fox Sports Is Hyping the World Cup"