It’s time for kick-off. After years of anticipation for what has been billed the biggest World Cup ever, the 2026 tournament hosted by the U.S., Canada, and Mexico is here. Not only is this year’s competition the biggest in terms of teams playing (48, up from 32), it’s expected to draw five billion viewers over its month-long run. And that’s why advertisers are spending upwards of $10.5 billion globally to get their brands in front of all those eyeballs.
Of course, maybe they should’ve just sponsored Freddy the viral Germany fan traveling the country and discovering all of America’s specific delights like Waffle House, Big Gulps, and more.
The criteria for a great World Cup ad is very similar to that other football advertising extravaganza, the Super Bowl. It’s a creative arms race to craft ideas that are not only entertaining and spark excitement for the games, but are indistinguishable from the brand making it. If you can swap in someone else’s logo and the ad still makes sense, then don’t count on the audience remembering who the ad is for.
Bring on the opening whistle, here are my Top 5 World Cup ads (so far).
Adidas “Backyard Legends”
This shouldn’t come as a surprise, since I’ve already called it Adidas’ best World Cup ad in 20 years. As I wrote when it originally dropped, the magic trick here is how it manages to take a less than unique story device (famous players, unexpected game, etc.), and give it a new spin in a way that lives up to both the hype and the occasion of the world’s biggest sporting event.
The world-building and lore that Adidas manages to craft in these five minutes is impressive, as is how genuinely fun it feels for everyone involved, not just the viewers. But perhaps its best move of all is that it ends before the supposed epic game even starts. We never see this mysterious streetball squad in action. The brand thankfully leaves it up to our imagination.
Nike “Rip the Script”
Here we have a chaotic, meta whirlwind through a Hollywood set of a World Cup commercial shoot.
One of the reasons I loved this isn’t just the flawless execution, but the idea of the brand creating its own universe in which that story could exist. And between all the stars, big names, sets, and set-ups, it serves up an almost endlessly clippable piece of brand work that will extend its audience and the hype around it.
And for the real ad nerds, it’s also a perfect mash-up of its 1998 World Cup ad and 2015’s “Short a Guy.” The 1998 spot had the Brazilian national team stuck in an airport, waiting to go to the World Cup in France… and they just start playing in the airport. Meanwhile, “Short A Guy” features a similar frenetic energy and chaos, moving from one set to another, combined with many different stars.
“Rip the Script” isn’t a copycat of previous creative strategies like these, but a culmination.
Uber Eats “Who Could Cook At A Time Like This?”
When it comes to big budget sports advertising, Uber Eats doesn’t skimp. The brand has had a few huge Super Bowl moments, from the Beckhams drafting off the success of a Netflix doc series in 2024 to Matthew McConaughey spreading theories about Big Food’s role in creating football for the last two years.
Here we get famed chef and aggro-reality star Gordon Ramsay, actually yelling at people to not cook in favor of watching the games. This counterintuitive message from Ramsay fits the moment, is hilariously executed, and works perfectly for the brand.
My only nitpick is that one could argue that this could be a DoorDash spot, given it’s just about food delivery. But Uber Eats has worked to establish a pretty unique brand voice through its use of celebrity—remember this great 2023 De Niro spot?—that we’ll give it a pass.
Brahma “Let Yourself Believe”
Since the dawn of time, or at least the World Cup, Brazil has always been considered a favorite to win. So it’s hard to see the Carnarinho (Little Canaries) as an underdog, but this spot by AB InBev-owned Brahma beer has fun with the country’s anxiety around once again proving its beautiful game bonafides.
On the surface, it looks and feels a little like any other big budget sports spot—the everyday people playing the game, the big name cameos (Ronaldo!), and gratuitous product shots. But not only is this spot rooted in research showing 76% of Brazilians don’t believe their team will win, it also uses fun – of historical moments in Brazilian football lore to try and build back that belief.
Coors Light “Taller Boy”
OK, at first I thought this really was a giant can. It’s not. But it’s pretty damn close. Here, Coors Light continues its long run of fun and funny merch gags with a double-walled stainless steel canister that functions like an XXL can holder, fitting up to three 12-ounce beer cans.
By now, Coors Light has been known for its merch game—the mosquito trap, the flashlight, the bear-themed golf club cover—for years. Now, I know this isn’t technically an ad, but every time someone walks into a watch party wielding one of these Taller Boy canisters, all the conversation and LOLs around it will undoubtedly be a walking, talking, IRL Coors Light ad.