What World Cup Advertisers Can Learn from the Super Bowl and Olympics 

'When brands show up with intention, they unlock results that last'

The Super Bowl—and soon the World Cup—are emotional cultural moments. After testing 600+ Super Bowl ads, we’ve found that longterm brand impact comes from emotionally-driven creative built for the moment and its audience—not just placed around it. 

If the Super Bowl teaches us anything, it’s this: When brands show up with intention—rooted in meaning, not just media weight—they unlock results that last far beyond the final whistle. The World Cup only amplifies that opportunity. 

These patterns reveal clear lessons for brands preparing for soccer’s biggest stage. 

Know Your Audience  

Super Bowl ad winners understand that the Big Game is a cultural event. It’s not just football fans tuning in, it’s a social occasion where non-fans show up. The same goes for the World Cup and the Olympics. People who wouldn’t normally watch sports tune in to be part of the cultural extravaganza. That’s why it’s important to develop creative that resonates with a broader audience, while still showing why the brand belongs in the game.

World Cup takeaway: Honor the fans but speak to the broader audience.  

Lead with emotion—keep it simple, human, and memorable 

In our testing, the strongest Super Bowl performers spark clear, immediate feelings—usually joy, warmth or inspiration—and resolve tension on a positive note. That’s why heartfelt ads like the NFL’s remake of a classic Mr. Rogers song consistently outperform spots that lean into edgier humor or cleverness. 

The Mr. Rogers song was a childhood staple for generations of viewers, so there’s major nostalgia in play. But also, it’s delightful to see athletes singing the song to adoring kids. It generates a halo effect for the whole night. And it also gives the NFL a chance to mention its mission of removing barriers to opportunity without making that the pivot for the whole ad. 

World Cup takeaway: Let emotion be your universal language. It makes an impact. 

Use celebrities and characters with purpose 

Celebrities can amplify attention—but only when they naturally fit the brand and story. Kurt Russell was a strong example at the Big Game. His Miracle‑era coach persona made him a seamless choice for Michelob Ultra’s SB spot tied to the Winter Olympics. 

While the Super Bowl and World Cup offer huge reach, dedicated fan communities can be just as influential. These audiences respond strongly to authentic talent choices, cultural nuance and references that reflect their world. 

Novartis showed how powerful this can be. Its prostate‑cancer awareness campaign used NFL figures like Bruce Arians and Rob Gronkowski to deliver a memorable message encouraging men to “relax their tight ends,” combining clever wordplay with relevant athlete participation. 

This reflects System1’s Sport Dividend: fans’ positive feelings about sports spill over to brands that show up meaningfully. The same logic applies to brand characters—Budweiser’s Clydesdales and Red Bull’s animations endure because they support the story rather than distract from it. 

Build a system, not a single spot 

The Super Bowl is one night; the World Cup is a month. The strongest campaigns use a simple idea that adapts across formats and markets while keeping brand assets consistent—whether through a master film, local edits, creator content, social cut‑downs, OOH or match‑day activations. 

Lay’s “Little Farmer” spot, our top‑ranked Super Bowl ad of 2025 with a 5.9‑Star score, is a great example. It didn’t end on game day. It ran for months, extended into social and retail and continued its emotional thread with “The Last Harvest.” Paired with tactics like the 72‑hour free‑bag challenge and in‑store displays, Lay’s created a cohesive, long‑running system. 

World Cup takeaway: Build work that evolves throughout the tournament while staying consistent and recognizable. 

The opportunity is bigger than the moment 

The Super Bowl may be the “Oscars of Advertising,” but the World Cup and Olympics provide global opportunities—stages where brands can build memory, meaning and momentum at unprecedented scale.  

Looking back at the Milano Cortina Olympics in February, we saw powerful examples of how truly global advertising must adapt to different cultural contexts. Visa, for example, partnered with athletes from a range of countries including Mikaela Shiffrin and Italy’s Sofia Goggia for its “On the Journey” campaign.  

While the overarching message stayed consistent, Visa tailored its creative to the nuances of each market. By featuring athletes familiar to local audiences and adjusting the storytelling to reflect what resonates emotionally in different countries, Visa demonstrated that fans do not engage with sports or with brands in the same way everywhere. This kind of nuanced, market-by-market testing is essential for campaigns that strive to feel global while still connecting authentically at a local level. 

The advertisers who win won’t be the ones who shout the loudest. They’ll be the ones who show up the most intentionally: for fans and for culture. 

And if the Super Bowl has taught us anything, it’s that thoughtful, emotionally intelligent creative doesn’t just win the moment. It wins long after the tournament ends.