Aldi tops System1’s ranking of greatest World Cup ads ever, as Adidas outperforms Nike overall

System1, the Creative Effectiveness Platform, has named Aldi’s 2022 Feast for Football campaign via McCann UK, the most popular FIFA World Cup advertisement of all time, outperforming 30 other iconic campaigns frequently cited among fans’ favourites.

The ranking also highlighted the long-standing World Cup rivalry between Adidas and Nike. Of the 31 ads evaluated, six were created by Adidas and seven by Nike. While Nike featured more often in the ranking, Adidas emerged as the strongest-performing brand overall, achieving the highest average scores across its campaigns.

System1’s Test Your Ad platform measures consumers’ emotional responses to advertising, assigning a score from 1.0 to 5.9 Stars based on long-term brand-building potential. Ads that generate strong positive emotions, such as happiness and surprise, are more likely to achieve higher scores.

The ads were tested with today’s consumers to determine which campaigns continue to resonate most strongly. The highest-performing ads consistently relied on humour, often delivered through unexpected contrasts and playful storytelling.

Several top-ranked campaigns used disparity for comedic effect, such as Pepsi’s Sumo (2002) via CLM BBDO Paris, which sees sumo wrestlers take on footballers. Others harnessed surprise, including Pepsi’s Nutmeg Royale via BBDO Argentina and Adidas’ Jose+10 via 180 Amsterdam, both of which imagined football superstars appearing in community kickabouts. Exaggeration also proved highly effective, helping propel Visa’s Football Evolution via Saatchi & Saatchi London into the rankings, while Aldi’s playful recreation of Nike’s iconic Airport demonstrated the enduring appeal of familiar creative ideas.

Nike’s Airport also secured a place in the Top 10, outperforming the brand’s more recent World Cup campaign, RIP the Script via Wieden+Kennedy, Portland. The result highlights an important lesson for marketers: distinctive creative platforms can retain their effectiveness for decades. Rather than continually reinventing the wheel, brands may achieve stronger commercial results by refreshing and evolving proven ideas that consumers already know and love.

The Top 10 Greatest World Cup Ads of All Time:

1. Aldi (2022) – Feast for Football via McCann UK – 5.0 Stars

2. Pepsi (2002) – Sumo via CLM BBDO, Paris – 5.0 Stars

3. Pepsi (2006) – Dare for More via BBDO – 4.6 Stars

4. Adidas (2006) – Jose+10 via 180 Amsterdam – 4.5 Stars

5. Mars (2010) – Singing for England via AMV BBDO London – 4.5 Stars

6. Adidas (2002) – Footballitis via 180 Amsterdam and TBWA\London – 4.1 Stars

7. Visa (2010) – Football Evolution via Saatchi & Saatchi London – 4.1 Stars

8. Adidas (2014) – The House Match via TBWA\Chiat\Day – 4.0 Stars

9. Nike (1998) – Airport via Wieden+Kennedy – 3.9 Stars

10. Pepsi (2022) – Nutmeg Royale via BBDO Argentina– 3.9 Stars

Says Andrew Tindall, Chief Growth Officer – Advertising at System1: “Creative consistency is one of the most powerful and underused tools in marketing. Five of these ads would have ranked alongside the top-performing World Cup ads of 2026, yet none are currently on air. Brands are sitting on a vault of proven creative gold.

“The winners are often the brands that build on what already works. Aldi’s reimagining of Airport is a great example. Adidas’ Backyard Legends also echoes many of the ingredients that made Jose+10 so effective years earlier.

“The lesson is simple: great creative ideas do not wear out. Nike may have said RIP the Script, but why have they said RIP to Airport? Some ideas are worth bringing back.”

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