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When it comes to playfulness, joy pays dividends

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The highest level of creativity is play

The 2026 FIFA World Cup is kicking off in North America tomorrow, and with it comes one of the most significant brand marketing opportunities in a generation.

But, only for brands willing to treat it like one. The temptation will be to reach for the Super Bowl playbook; high production, big celebrities, broad emotional arc. That's understandable as it's a proven formula for a proven format.

There is no single audience for the World Cup, but that's not a challenge. That's the opportunity.

The difference is, the Super Bowl is one night, the audience is largely American, largely English-speaking, and brands have had decades of data to refine exactly what lands. The World Cup is a different game entirely. Forty-eight teams, three host countries, weeks of competition across time zones, languages and fan cultures that don't all look the same.

There is no single audience for the World Cup, but that's not a challenge. That's the opportunity.

Above: With the World Cup having such a broad audience, it's an opportunity for brands to connect.


Take men's soccer in the US. A significant share of viewers are watching in Spanish. Telemundo's inventory is nearly sold out. Hispanic fans aren't a niche segment of the World Cup audience in America, they're the engine behind it. The brands that recognised this early built strategies accordingly. They'll show up this summer with creative that actually connects.

The brands that have built lasting commercial impact from that event, year-after-year, did the audience work before they briefed the creative. 

Women's soccer tells its own story. A younger fan base, more digitally native, engaged with sponsors in ways that differ meaningfully from the men's game. These fans came to the sport through athletes they admire and narratives that resonated with them personally. The brands that earn their attention will be the ones that show up feeling genuinely connected to the sport.

Here's where the Super Bowl lesson actually does transfer. The brands that have built lasting commercial impact from that event, year-after-year, did the audience work before they briefed the creative. They knew exactly who they were talking to, what made that person respond emotionally, and how to tie their brand to a feeling that outlasts the final whistle. Then they measured whether it moved people

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Nike – Rip the Script

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Above: Nike's World Cup spot "is the clearest early signal of what that ambition looks like".


F1 is the most relevant recent proof point. As that sport's audience exploded, the brands that moved early and built genuine cultural fluency, recognising the younger fans and  people who came to it through Netflix's Drive to Survive rather than a lifetime of track heritage, are the ones seeing real commercial return. Brands that sponsored F1 saw an average 34-point lift in purchase consideration among fans who knew they were involved. Every single one posted a lift. 

The brands that will be remembered this summer started with an understanding of how their marketing investment shows up in people’s lives.

The World Cup offers the same window, at a much larger scale. Nike's Rip The Script [above] is the clearest early signal of what that ambition looks like. It doesn't try to be a Super Bowl ad, it tries to be a World Cup ad. Localised efforts for US Hispanic communities and Latin American audiences were built into the campaign's DNA as a strategic priority. That's the distinction.

The brands that will be remembered this summer started with an understanding of how their marketing investment shows up in people’s lives, their presence, distinction and relevance.

They asked the right first questions: who are we actually talking to, and how do we move people? The World Cup just makes the answer more interesting.

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