Anticipation, preparation, hope, hype, joy, parties, extra calories and over-indulgences, family arguments, national hangovers, regrets – and of course blockbuster high-budget advertising moments. No this isn’t Christmas, this is the Football World Cup.
Our friends at WARC have calculated that whilst this World Cup is expected to add $10.5bn into the global ad market, this is only a 1.1% increase on what would be expected without the tournament – and less than half the ad market growth impact of Russia in 2018. In terms of what it means for advertisers, WARC’s take is that “the tournament can concentrate audience reach in a window of genuine cultural relevance.”
For some people, Football really is life – and the World Cup is far better than Christmas. So it makes complete sense for brands to try to grab the attention of their current and potential customers when emotions are running so high. The opportunity to connect on an emotional level is significant – and so is the investment that marketers are making in being part of it.
It will certainly be fascinating to see how the first World Cup with three host countries, 48 teams and 104 matches plays out for UK brands – especially given the time zone factor (more coffee anyone?!). Content will still be king but it will be the most fragmented by channel, by device and by platform that any World Cup has seen – and the brands that succeed will be the ones that manage to be part of the conversation, rather than just shouting from the sidelines.
Our pick of the ads:
- Our Ad in the A is VCCP’s ‘Royal London Works for You’ which reverses the roles between the customers and the boss for Royal London.
- BBH London takes Tesco’s ‘Whoosh’ service to the next level in ‘Serious Delivery’.
- Drummond Central have released ‘Picky Eater’ featuring life-size food items for HelloFresh.
- Anomaly London’s ‘Build It Better’ emphasises greater connectivity for Revolut.
Our must reads:
- Channel 4 Sales has announced the winners of its B Corp competition, where 5 businesses win a share of TV advertising airtime and our CEO, Stephen Woodford, was a judge. (The Media Leader).
- Senior leaders from Cannes Lions explain the changes to Cannes Lions this year, including tighter administrative rules in a ‘necessary step-change’ (Campaign).
- WPP Media’s Wavemaker has introduced a Media Essentials series aimed at marketers early in their careers (The Media Leader).
- Snapchat’s Jake Thomas describes how the World Cup will see fans use their second screens to participate live and together across digital platforms (Campaign).
Dates for your diary:
- The Mayor of London’s AI and Jobs Taskforce wants to understand what employers are seeing and experiencing as AI reshapes our work. Join us in completing the survey by 19 June here.
- From 15 June until 5pm on 15 September, AA members can book the ASA’s live virtual advice sessions at an enhanced discounted group rate. Use code AAgroup35 for groups of 4–24 delegates to get 35% off, or AAgroup60 for 25+ delegates for 60% off. T&Cs apply
- Fancy being in sunny Eastbourne 7-10 July for a transformative career highlight? Then why not take one of the last places on our famous Media Business Course? Find out more and book here.
- CreatorFest 2026 on 14-15 July has a packed two-day agenda of networking and panels. Get 20% off your tickets using the code AA20OFF here.
And finally, in keeping with our Football crazy theme, we’d like to put out a call for more opposition teams to face the AA Team at 5-aside football! Despite their 100% win-rate, they remain very humble and willing to consider all offers, so do drop Konrad a line if you’re interested!
