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LIA adds Sports for 2026
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The new category will recognise creative work built around sport, fandom and live audiences, with Shannon Washington [pictured], CCO, Managing Partner at 11 Ounces Brooklyn serving as the inaugural Jury President.
A new Sports category has been introduced by LIA for 2026, opening up the field for creative work built around sport, fandom and live audiences.
The category launches following a year in which sport once again proved its cultural and commercial pull, with the FIFA World Cup 2026 helping generate around $10.5 billion in global advertising spend during Q2, according to WARC Media. From major tournament campaigns to reactive social work, ambush marketing and fan-led activations, the field has become an increasingly varied space for creative work.
Barbara Levy, President, LIA, says: “There is so much work in sports that’s pushing boundaries. Every kind of creativity was on display during the recent World Cup, from celebrity partnerships to clever ambush marketing. Well thought-out, well-crafted and well-placed advertising that caught the attention and the imagination of the audience.”
The best sports advertising doesn’t just sell products or sponsorships, it captures the passion, optimism, rivalry and humanity that make sport meaningful in the first place.
Jamie Overkamp, Senior Creative Director at ESPN, New York, says: “Sports are an important and integral part of advertising, because they have a live audience, that’s passionate and emotionally engaged. Also sports depending on the game and the importance of the game has tens of millions watching, and they don’t skip ads or walk away. So, brands can safely make large media buys, because they know the audience will be there and they will be highly engaged.”
Stephen de Wolf, National Chief Creative Officer at Clemenger BBDO, Sydney, says: “Creativity in sport matters so much. The best sports advertising doesn’t just sell products or sponsorships, it captures the passion, optimism, rivalry and humanity that make sport meaningful in the first place. And when brands get it right, they become part of culture, not just part of the game.”
Above: [L-R] Thomas Heyen, Jamie Overkamp, Stephen de Wolf and Xenia Esteve.
While sports advertising has long been part of the marketing landscape, the relationship between brands, teams, athletes and fans has shifted. Sponsorship is no longer simply about visibility, with brands now creating work around live moments, creator collaborations, premium experiences, earned media, reactive social content and cinematic storytelling.
Thomas Heyen, Creative Lead at Jung von Matt, says: “Back then, sponsorship was largely about visibility. Today, in my professional life, I see sports marketing as something fundamentally different. We have entered an era defined by creator collaborations, premium experiences, earned media, native PR, real-time and reactive social content that amplifies the power of live moments, and ultimately, a new level of cinematic storytelling. This year's summer of football showcased exactly that, with brands like adidas, Nike, Budweiser, and Lay’s demonstrating how culture, creativity, and sport can come together to create work that people genuinely want to engage with - not just watch.”
According to Nielsen, 81% of fans remember a brand that sponsors their team, underlining the value of work that connects with existing emotion rather than trying to manufacture it.
Sport is the last place where everything is real — the stakes, the sweat, the heartbreak, the joy. If your work lives in that world, it deserves to be judged by people who understand what that means,
Xenia Esteve, Senior Director, Brand & Marketing at Euroleague Basketball, says: “I believe brands can create messages, but they cannot manufacture the emotions that sport naturally generates. The best work in sports marketing understands those emotions, respects them and amplifies them authentically, giving visibility and resonance to stories and communities that deserve to be seen and celebrated.”
Shannon Washington, CCO, Managing Partner at 11 Ounces Brooklyn, will serve as the inaugural Sports Jury President for LIA. “As inaugural Sports Jury President for London International Awards," she explains, "I can speak for the jury in saying we're looking for work that understands sport the way fans do — not as a marketing vehicle, but as one of the most human things we have left. Sport is the last place where everything is real — the stakes, the sweat, the heartbreak, the joy. If your work lives in that world, it deserves to be judged by people who understand what that means."
With the launch of Sports, LIA adds a category for work that uses the energy of the game, the emotion of fandom and the reach of live audiences to create advertising that continues to resonate after the final whistle.
