Rick SuterUSA TODAY
July 19, 2026, 6:05 a.m. ET
The USA TODAY Ad Meter Brand Spotlight: World Cup Edition has entered the final day.
As Spain and Argentina take the pitch in search of World Cup glory, four brands have moved to the front of the advertising pack, earning the highest percentage of votes from the Ad Meter audience.
But the game behind the game isn’t over …
Voting to determine the three brands that will step to the Ad Meter Brand Spotlight podium as the third-, second-, and first-place winner remains open until the final whistle of the championship match.
So, time to bring your opinions to the international stage!
Here’s how each finalist got to this stage:
Lay’s
The snack brand unveiled two commercials for the World Cup, kicking things off with a star-studded watch party and then jumping on the bus with Will Ferrell for bandwagon journey to the event.
Both were hits with the Ad Meter audience, scoring a marketing win more than 90% of the time.
Michelob ULTRA
Michelob Ultra transformed a hotel lobby into a legendary pitch for the brand’s World Cup creative, with Lionel Messi, Christian Pulisic, and Billy Bob Thornton leading the way alongside cameos from Alex Morgan, Guillermo Ochoa, and Ronaldo Nazario.
Part of the Anheuser-Busch portfolio, the brand continues to flex in the marketing arena, with the campaign racking up 90% positive votes from the audience.
Stella Artois
Stella Artois slowed things down for the brand’s World Cup creative, and found success. David Beckham headlined the commercial, a slow-motion journey of relatable beer-celebration snafus, scored to Elvis Presley’s “Can’t Help Falling In Love.”
The “Celebration” campaign was the top-rated beer brand, with an impressive 98% of the audience saying the ad was a “GOAL!”.
Hyundai
Hyundai showcased its continuedmarketing ingenuity on the World Cup stage, introducing the latest extension of the “Progress for Humanity” story, which aims to advance innovation in mobility and robotics.
The automotive company teamed up with Boston Robotics for the reveal, which added two stars to the campaign: a humanoid named Atlas and a quadrupedal robot named Spot.
Complemented by social media activations, the “Next Starts Now” commercial ranked among the top spots for the Ad Meter audience, carrying a 98% positive rating.
DICK’s and Adidas (plus standalone campaign)
The Sport/Athletic genre was highly competitive, but the combined forces of Dick’s Sporting Goods and Adidas—plus the creative chops of OBB Media and its branded entertainment content studio, Bolded—seemed to create an elevated dynamic for the audience.
The brands’ “Where It All Kicks Off” campaign landed at a 94% positive reaction, with the star-studded mini-movie capturing the energy and emotion of the World Cup while flexing creative imagination.
Adidas continued that creative-storytelling momentum into the brand’s standalone spot as well, with “Backyard Legends,” starring Timothée Chalamet, earning a near-perfect rating.
DoorDash
The online food delivery company transformed one Dasher’s POV journey into a World Cup marketing splash. The campaign, titled “Deliver Us To Fútbol,” blended art and life during the soccer mania, and drove home the visual messaging with cameos from Ricardo Kaká, Alex Morgan, and global creator Khaby Lame. Some 97% of the Ad Meter audience gave this one a nod of approval.
Dove Men+Care
Jack White’s adrenaline-building intro in “Seven Nation Army” set the tone for Dove Men’s World Cup spot, a powerful pulse-pounder for the brand’s “Care for Your Skin Like You Care for the Game” campaign.
The creative mix of visuals and the score was enough to prompt a collective “chant” of positivity from the Ad Meter audience, with the commercial receiving nearly 90% approval.
Taco Bell
Sometimes, it’s the simple things that can win the marketing game. For Taco Bell, it was the understanding that World Cup fandom can be exhausting and exhilarating—an emotional rollercoaster with all the feels, one of which is hunger. Enter the Emotional Support Taco, which also nailed a near-perfect rating from the audience.
