For the past several weeks, much of the world has been talking about the same thing.
The 2026 FIFA World Cup gave us major upsets, breakout stars, packed watch parties, memorable brand campaigns and more memes than anyone could reasonably keep track of. It also brought people together at a time when our country could certainly use more of that.
Even after the U.S. team was eliminated, Americans kept watching. England’s quarterfinal against Norway became the most-watched English-language World Cup quarterfinal telecast in U.S. history. The following night, nearly 16 million viewers watched Argentina play Switzerland, making it the second most-watched telecast of its kind.
Clearly, Americans did not need a U.S. team to stay invested. The tournament had given them plenty of other teams, players and stories to care about.
From a PR perspective, here are a few of the moments that stood out to us.
Norway rowed its way into America’s heart
Norway had not appeared in a World Cup in 28 years, but the team made up for lost time.
Its players celebrated wins with a Viking row, sitting together on the field and rowing in unison as supporters joined in from the stands. It was simple, funny, unmistakably Norwegian and made for the kind of image people immediately wanted to share.
It also gave the team something every brand wants: an identity people could recognize and participate in.
Then there was Erling Haaland.
Haaland was already one of the biggest names in soccer, but the World Cup introduced him to a much broader American audience. He regularly posted videos and updates from the tournament, embraced his time in the U.S. and let fans see far more of his personality than they usually would on the field.
His adventures included shopping for cowboy boots in Dallas, buying a $750 stuffed raccoon and appearing to have a genuinely wonderful time in America. The raccoon later sold out, while Haaland’s Instagram following reportedly jumped from approximately 40 million to 68 million during the tournament. His post featuring Norway’s Viking row was also one of his strongest-performing posts of the World Cup.
The story continued after Haaland returned home carrying the raccoon off the plane. TSA quickly joined the conversation with an Instagram post joking that it was “not sure how much longer we can keep up with the things soccer fans are trying to travel with.” The post, accompanied by a “Haaland (Ha Ha Ha)” soundtrack and plenty of TSA-style travel puns, was a brilliant example of a brand responding quickly to a cultural moment without forcing itself into the story.
Check out TSA’s Instagram account and its response to Haaland’s unusual World Cup Souvenir.
That is a fairly good reminder that not every effective PR moment needs to be carefully scripted. Sometimes the best thing a public figure can do is let people see who they are.
Brands created experiences
Some of the best brand work surrounding the tournament went beyond traditional commercials.
Adidas created its Home of Soccer experience. Chewy launched a Cuddle Shuttle featuring adoptable dogs. Bank of America introduced its Fan Band, bringing musicians from host cities into the tournament atmosphere. Dove Men+Care, Coca-Cola, Lay’s, Budweiser and other major brands also found ways to become part of how fans experienced the World Cup.
And then there was ranch dressing.
The World Cup has always been a chance for visitors to experience the culture and food of its host countries, and this year, international fans unexpectedly fell in love with one of America’s most beloved condiments. Posts from visitors trying ranch for the first time spread across social media, with some fans even looking for ways to bring bottles and packets home.
Brands were quick to respond. Hidden Valley distributed ranch at tournament events, while Kraft introduced TSA-approved travel kits after the agency reminded travelers that full-size bottles could not pass through security. What began as an organic reaction from visiting fans became one of the World Cup’s funniest brand opportunities and an unexpectedly effective celebration of American food culture.
The common thread was participation. The campaigns that stood out didn’t just place a logo next to the tournament. They gave fans something to visit, try, share or talk about.
That matters because major events can easily become crowded with sponsors competing for the same attention. The brands people remember are usually the ones that added something to the experience.
Check out 11 World Cup brand activations scoring big with soccer fans!
The best campaigns understood that fans were the story
Nike, Adidas, Pepsi, DoorDash and many others released major World Cup campaigns, but the strongest work placed fans and soccer culture at the center.
Nike’s “Rip the Script” campaign tapped into the unpredictability that makes the World Cup so exciting. Other campaigns leaned into travel, fashion, music, food, national pride and the rituals that surround watching a match.
That made sense. The World Cup isn’t only about what happens during 90 minutes on the field. It’s about where people watch, who they watch with, what they wear, what they eat and how they celebrate.
The smartest campaigns understood that brands needed to give fans more ways to tell their own story.
Check out 15 of the best FIFA World Cup 2026 ads and how brands took the marketing pitch for the World Cup.
The tournament became the campaign
The World Cup itself may have delivered the most effective PR message of all.
After the round of 16, FIFA reported that more than 6.2 million people had attended matches, filling nearly 100 percent of available seats. Host cities welcomed visitors from across the globe, while restaurants, bars and public spaces filled with people watching teams they may never have followed before.
Here in the U.S., the tournament reached well beyond longtime soccer fans. People chose new teams, learned new chants and gathered with friends and strangers to watch matches together.
That does not erase the divisions in our country, of course. But for a few weeks, millions of Americans were sharing the same experience. Even after the U.S. team went home, people kept watching because they had become invested in Norway, Argentina, England, Spain and the many other stories the tournament gave us.
That may be the biggest communications lesson from this World Cup: people want something to rally around.
The best PR recognizes what people already care about and gives them more ways to be part of it.
For Norway, that meant goals, cowboy boots, a stuffed raccoon and a whole lot of rowing.
For international visitors, it apparently also meant discovering ranch dressing and figuring out how to get it through airport security.