LONDON – June 18, 2026 – Brands are serving up some powerful emotions at this year’s World Cup, with AB InBev’s “Cheers To Bars” generating the strongest positive emotional response among food and drink advertisers.
That’s according to new data from creative intelligence platform DAIVID, which analysed all of the 2026 World Cup campaigns released so far using its AI-powered creative effectiveness platform, ranking them by the intensity of positive emotions they are predicted to generate.
“Cheers To Bars”, which celebrates the role of local bars in communities around the world, generated intense positive emotions among 53.7% of viewers, placing it ahead of every other food and drink campaign in the tournament so far.
The campaign also delivered above-average attention throughout and was 139% more likely to evoke intense feelings of nostalgia, 71% more likely to generate warmth and 54% more likely to trigger excitement than the average ad, placing it in the top 21% of ads tested by DAIVID.
Lay’s “The Most Epic Watch Party” ranked second (52.1%), followed by Irn-Bru’s “We’re Made in Scotland from Girders” in third (51.7%). Coca-Cola’s “Bubbling Up” and Fernet Branca’s “We Are Unbearable” completed the top five. Other brands to feature in the top 10 include Budweiser, Modelo USA and Pepsi.
Beyond the food and drink sector, DAIVID’s wider analysis highlights clear emotional and commercial differences between World Cup advertising and the Super Bowl. On average, this year’s World Cup ads generate 18.8% more excitement, 9.8% more joy and even 2% more amusement than ads at the 2026 Super Bowl, reflecting a more uplifting, collective emotional tone. They also score higher on inspiration (9.2%), admiration (10%), hope (9%) and pride (11.3%).
Super Bowl advertising, by contrast, scores higher on more disruptive emotions, including 13% higher disgust, 19.3% higher sadness, 7.7% higher awkwardness and 6.3% more embarrassment, consistent with its more provocative, risk-taking creative tradition.
However, Super Bowl ads delivered higher average scores across all key brand metrics, including purchase intent (+5.8%), brand recommendations (+5.4%), search intent (+3.6%) and sharing (+2.3%).
Other key findings from DAIVID’s World Cup research include:
>> Fox Sports leads emotional impact overall: Fox Sports’ “Miracle” is the most emotionally impactful World Cup ad overall, generating intense positive emotions among 56.1% of viewers. It ranks ahead of Mastercard’s “Leo Messi: For You, The Fans” (54.3%) and Volkswagen Brazil’s “The Dream” (54%).
>> Alcohol brands making mouths water: Alcohol brands dominate DAIVID’s ranking of the most mouth-watering World Cup ads, with spots from Modelo USA and Stella Artois taking the top two positions. Guinness, Jim Beam and Coors Light also feature in the top 10, alongside campaigns from Lay’s, McDonald’s Brazil and Uber Eats.
Ian Forrester, CEO and founder of DAIVID, said: “World Cup ads are certainly delivering a powerful kick of positive emotions, with brands particularly leaning into strong feelings of nostalgia, togetherness and optimism. But when it comes to shifting behaviour, the Super Bowl still holds the advantage, proving that feel-good doesn’t always equal commercial effectiveness.”