YouTube TV World Cup Campaign
Harnessed the 2026 FIFA World Cup to drive YouTube TV’s biggest tentpole acquisition moment.
The Brief
Encourage people who are not fully satisfied with their live TV service to reconsider their current provider by showing them that with YouTube TV’s award-winning service and 10+ flexible plans, they don’t have to settle.
The Idea
Develop a contextually relevant creative execution that transforms notoriously confident soccer icon Zlatan Ibrahimović into a ‘meh’ version of himself, paired with a full-funnel brand and tune-in campaign to drive consideration and acquisition.
The Execution
Produced Breakout Hero Creative: Partnered with Zlatan Ibrahimović and Jason & Kylie Kelce to develop high-impact 30- and 15-second TV spots that entertained while spotlighting YouTube TV’s key differentiators, including new flexible plans, Multiview, and its #1 J.D. Power rating.
Scaled a Creator-Led Social Campaign: Developed custom social-first creative with Zlatan and partnered with five prominent creators (Rudy Willingham, Legendary Shots, Chef Cuso, Lili Cantero, and Pharaohtalks) to extend the campaign across social platforms.
Executed a Precision Direct Response Engine: Deployed seven creative variants, including matchup-specific assets tailored to shifting tournament demand, driving high-intent fans directly into the subscription funnel.
Engineered an Intent-Driven Media Plan: Built a media strategy around historical intent windows and high-converting matches where sign-up volume met favorable unit rates. Front-loaded spend into marquee matchups to deliver 68 linear broadcast spots on FOX/FS1 and 34 CTV homepage takeovers across major TV OEMs.
Piloted Real-Time AI Match Triggers: Partnered with Genius Sports and Meta to build an automated data pipeline that detected live match events like goals, red cards, and major upsets, deploying over 80 dynamic, real-time social ads from the Round of 32 through the Final.
The Impact
Drove the highest subscription volume at the strongest ROI of any 2026 tentpole campaign.
Total YouTube TV Sign-Ups (+80% YoY, +54% vs. 2022 World Cup, and +43% vs. 2026 Super Bowl/Olympics)
Incremental Paid Starts (350% of campaign goal, 3.5x target)
ROI (-22% YoY, lowest cost-per-incremental-start to date)
Brand Consideration Lift
Favorability/Purchase Intent Lift
of 200+ World Cup Ads Ranked by Adweek (Based on EDO’s TV Outcomes Score)
Social Views (+135% vs. benchmark)
Post Engagements (3x benchmark; top Zlatan IG post hit 11x benchmark)
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