Coca-Cola FIFA World Cup 26™ North America

WPP Open X, led by VML, helps Coca-Cola launch a campaign to welcome fans and amplify the highs of the tournament.

Office: United States

Client: Coca-Cola

When the world’s biggest sporting event arrived in North America, Coca-Cola didn't just sponsor the tournament—they became part of its pulse. By fusing real-time API technology with cultural storytelling, WPP Open X, led by VML, put the brand at the absolute center of the fútbol conversation. From dynamic out-of-home ads reacting to live match moments to social activations that turned fans into active participants, we proved that when the passion of the game meets the magic of Coca-Cola, every moment is worth celebrating.

Coca-Cola has been a sponsor of the FIFA World Cup™ for longer than most fans have been alive. FIFA World Cup 26™ was the biggest edition of the tournament yet, with more eyes on it and more brands competing for attention than ever before. The challenge was to stand out in that noise, and to do it in a way that made Coca-Cola feel like it belonged at the tournament.

Coca-Cola planned for the moments that would matter most in fans' FIFA World Cup 26™ experiences, and showed up in the heart of them, capturing and accentuating the emotional highs of the tournament. The goal was to make Coke a distinctive part of how people experienced this FIFA World Cup and the moments they'd remember most, especially through social and OOH.

Throughout the tournament, we kept Coca-Cola at the center of the fútbol conversation by combining automated ad tech with real-time fan engagement. For OOH, we pre-designed artwork for every possible matchup scenario so our API-driven network could launch the correct team matchups across digital screens at precise moments, culminating in a post-final victory takeover across 56 NYC screens. On social, we flipped the traditional soccer red card into a reward. We "red-carded" fans by surprising over 200 of them across social platforms with real-time gifts and World Cup tickets, driving 3.2M views, 47K engagements, and 1M+ earned impressions. Between our Red Card program, trend-led content, and ambassador posts with stars like Cristo Fernandez, our activations consistently pulled in millions of views and placed Coca-Cola directly inside fan culture.