To match the energy of what’s billed as the biggest sporting event on earth (even bigger than the Olympics apparently), brands staged a massive Out of Home takeover, dominating city centres and roadsides across the UK with reams of World Cup content.

OOH is the only way to talk to the whole nation with the same tone of voice, and icons like Piccadilly Lights do it better than any other.

With Coca-Cola, ChatGPT and Chase carrying football themed messages on Landsec’s landmark, after England’s elimination in the semis – dashing a 60 year long dream to finally bring the men’s World Cup home – Deliveroo followed through with a big ‘Thank you, lads’ to the squad for a brilliant run.

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Elsewhere, multiple brands rose to the occasion throughout the 2026 tournament with an unstoppable flow of tactical spots and attention grabbing ads, using multiple formats to keep outdoor audiences fully entertained and engaged.

Here’s a few of our favourites:

Hydration breaks

Lucozade unveiled its summer campaign by transforming London’s BFI IMAX with an eye-catching full-building wrap featuring England star Jude Bellingham. Developed by ZEAL, the mammoth installation reinforced Lucozade Sport’s position as a trusted performance partner in elite sport. It was planned through WPP and EssenceMediacom.

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Leith and Tennent’s marked Scotland’s long‑awaited return to football’s biggest stage with ‘Time to Dream’. Planned through Republic of Media and Talon Manchester, the OOH ads reflected on the emotional highs and lows of fans, alluding to England’s goal of ‘making ‘26 our ‘66’, and ‘Revenge is a dish best served cold and frothy’, a reference to Scotland’s previous 1998 World Cup defeat vs Morocco. All we can say is bring on 2030.

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Biscuit icon Tunnock’s used the shapes of its famous teacakes and caramel wafers in a lovely ‘World Cuppa Champions’ campaign to spell out goals across large format screens in Glasgow. The campaign was planned through McGread Outdoor.

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It’s feeding time

Marks & Spencer played a blinder with its Manchester mural featuring three Lions – Marc Guéhi (No 6), Jude Bellingham (No10) and Elliot Anderson (No 8), arms around each other’s shoulders with the strapline ‘It’s Feeding Time’ written across their shirt backs. Located on Water Street in St John’s, planned through WPP and Mural Republic, the work became a viral sensation among football fans.

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Record breakers

Performance and lifestyle footwear brand Skechers renamed London’s Canary Wharf ‘Kaneary Wharf’ in a campaign featuring its global ambassador and England captain Harry Kane across 37 of our small format full motion screens, part of The Loop network.

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To honour Kane becoming England’s all-time leading World Cup scorer, Skechers also unveiled a special edition SKX 2 boot in England’s red and white colours. The campaign was planned through Wavemaker and WPP.

For every goal

Highlighting everyday wins both big and small, Google Gemini used the scale and reach of OOH as part of its integrated World Cup campaign featuring England stars taking on everyday chores with a little bit of ‘AI assist’. Planned through EssenceMediacom and WPP.

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Hitting home

For many homeless young people, the missing word in this poster is far more important than an England win. This powerful campaign was created by One Black Bear for the charity St Basils which has been working to prevent homelessness across the West Midlands since 1972. It appeared across Ocean’s roadside D6 screens in Birmingham.

The fans’ cup

Back in Scotland, football brought the drama, but one of the more memorable OOH campaigns came from tourism chiefs at Meet Boston. Sealing the glorious meeting of two cultures and inspired by some of the memories created by the 50,000 strong Tartan army when it descended on Boston for Scotland’s qualifying matches, it was planned through billups and Allen & Gerritsen.

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Argos meanwhile tapped into fan rituals and habits surrounding the beautiful game. A series of witty ads used humour to spotlight everyday products in unexpected match-day scenarios. One execution pairs a DeLonghi kettle with the headline ‘VAR’ (video assistant referee) and a call to action, the combination of bold typography and visual simplicity allowing the football reference to land in an instant. Planning was through Talon and PHD Media.

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Grassroots legends

As banking partner of the England teams, Chase ran a Piccadilly Lights takeover featuring an immersive 3D DeepScreen® execution and high impact placements to anchor its campaign spotlighting grassroots football coaches across the UK. The previously unsung influence coaches have on individuals and their communities is celebrated with the tagline, ‘Together we go further’. It was planned through WPP and EssenceMediacom.

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Back of the net

In downtown LA, adidas turned heads with its CGI 3D billboard of Lionel Messi’s iconic kick. It’s one of a series of stunts and installations that made headlines across the Atlantic. Closer to home, the sportswear brand placed England midfielder Jude Bellingham front and centre with a series of banners as part of its ‘You Got This’ campaign. Both players star in adidas’ epic fantasy ‘Backyard Legends’, another standout use of football talent. Well played adidas.

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