World Cup 2026 ads: Which brands hit the net, which deserve a red card
The FIFA World Cup 2026 kicks off in a month, and brands are flooding screens with cinematic storytelling, nostalgia, and AI. The tournament reaches billions of viewers globally, making it the advertising event of the year. Some campaigns will stick in collective memory long after the final whistle. Others will fade fast.
The winners
Adidas - Backyard Legends
Timothée Chalamet sits in a car with Trinity Rodman, Lamine Yamal, and Jude Bellingham. David Beckham appears with his iconic mohawk, rendered with surprisingly restrained AI work. Then Bad Bunny and Messi arrive. The '90s aesthetic borrows from Nike's playbook without feeling derivative.
The pacing works. Chalamet's performance feels genuine. The focus stays on grassroots participation rather than pushing product. People are calling for this to become a series.
Lays - Most Epic Watch Party
The "No Lays, No Game" campaign has run for four years. Instead of reinventing the wheel, Lays doubled down. Messi and Beckham cross paths again alongside Alexia Putellas, Thierry Henry, and Steve Carell. Unsuspecting shoppers get invited to watch parties if they buy the product.
The WhatsApp group tied to the campaign has over 10 million followers. Lays understood fan engagement before most brands did.
Lego - Everybody Wants a Piece
Lego posted its World Cup ad with the hashtag #HonestlyItsnotai-a direct acknowledgment of AI skepticism. No generative imagery here, just traditional effects and body doubles. Messi, Ronaldo, Mbappé, and Vinícius Jr. compete to build a Lego World Cup.
Like the best ads this cycle, it reframes the tournament as belonging to fans, not just stars. That message resonates.
Powerade - Power Your Fate
WPP Open X created something unexpected for an energy drink. Lamine Yamal and Rodrygo appear as painted murals, sculpted statues, and bronze facades. The artistic approach to preparation and discipline stands out in a category that usually defaults to sweat and intensity.
The middling
Pepsi - Football Nation
Pepsi's AI work is less jarring than Coca-Cola's Christmas ads, though it still distracts. David Beckham returns for a campaign about football banter and rule-making. The tone is frenetic and inclusive, which upstages Coca-Cola's official World Cup sponsorship.
Budweiser - Let it Pour
Erling Haaland and Jürgen Klopp bring nostalgia and surreal humor. The mood feels epic. The message-buy this beer to spill it-lands as a joke, though not a particularly sharp one.
The misses
Coca-Cola - Uncanned Emotions
Despite being an official sponsor, Coca-Cola skips the footballer route. Instead, commentators Peter Drury and Luis Omar Tapia carry the ad, which focuses on AI shots of cans being tapped, opened, and spilled.
The concept has merit. The execution feels flat. By making the brand the hero instead of the sport, Coca-Cola missed the assignment.
Coors - The Coooors Call
This ad hijacks Argentine commentator Andrés Cantor's iconic "GOOOOAL" shout as a brand name. Short and memorable, but it prioritizes product placement over celebrating football.
Duracell
Messi is revealed to be a robot powered by double-A batteries. It's the standard Duracell message-batteries keep things running-but lacks the emotional or cultural depth of the best campaigns this year. It feels overly commercial.
The pattern among winning ads is clear: brands that focused on fan culture and the sport itself outperformed those that made themselves the centerpiece. The use of AI matters less than restraint. When agencies treated it as a tool rather than the story, audiences noticed the difference.
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