Analysis: World Cup ads didn’t overly rely on Beckham or Messi
July 22, 2026
Analysis from creative effectiveness platform System1 reveals that David Beckham and Lionel Messi are far less prominent in World Cup advertising than online conversation suggests. Beckham appeared in 10 per cent of global World Cup ads, while Messi featured in 8 per cent.
Some commentators questioned whether repeated appearances risked promoting the footballers’ personal brands over those of advertisers. However, System1 found no impact on brand recognition. Ads featuring Beckham or Messi achieved the same average Fluency Rating (80 per cent) as those without either football icon.
Where celebrity did make a difference was long-term effectiveness. Ads featuring Beckham or Messi achieved an average 0.6-Star uplift compared with ads featuring neither player, suggesting football icons can help strengthen long-term commercial potential during major sporting moments.
Although famous faces can feel ubiquitous during the World Cup, their overall presence is often overestimated. They also tend to appear in campaigns from brands with the budgets to invest in stronger creative execution.
System1’s Test Your Ad platform measures long-term brand-building potential using a Star Rating from 1.0 to 5.9. It captures viewers’ emotional responses, with stronger positive emotion linked to greater long-term commercial growth. Fluency measures brand recognition, showing how accurately viewers identify the brand after watching an ad.
Andrew Tindall, Chief Growth Officer – Advertising at System1 said: “I’ll admit, I assumed Beckham and Messi were everywhere this World Cup, and that brands risked advertising the players more than themselves. The data tells a different story. They’re in fewer than one in ten ads, they don’t hurt brand recognition, and they lift long-term effectiveness. That’s because the best examples use them with purpose. Lego’s GOAT campaign with Messi feels natural. Lay’s has built years of consistency with Beckham, so every new campaign compounds what came before. Would I still like to see more brands leaning on their own distinctive assets during moments like the World Cup? Absolutely. But that’s a separate issue. Around one in five World Cup ads still struggle with attribution. That’s not Beckham’s fault. That’s on the brands.”
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